Four men have been charged with over 120 historical sexual abuse offences in County Donegal.
The men face a total of 126 charges of rape, sexual assault and indecent assault against two women. The charges relate to alleged incidents on a range of dates from the early 1980s to the early 1990s.
The four, who cannot be named for legal reasons to protect the anonymity of the alleged victims in the case, were brought before a sitting of Falcarragh District Court, held at Letterkenny courthouse, on Wednesday morning.
All four were arrested on Wednesday morning and were granted bail to appear again in October for the service of books of evidence.
One of the men has been charged with a total of 81 offences. The man, in his 50s, has been charged with 20 counts of rape against one woman. He also faces 20 charges of sexual assault and eight charges of indecently assaulting the same woman.
Against another woman, the same man faces 10 charges of rape, 20 charges of indecent assault and three sexual assault charges.
Detective Garda Eugene Organ gave evidence of arresting the man on Wednesday morning. The man replied ‘no comment’ when each of the charges was put to him.
The man was represented by barrister Mr Fiachra Treacy, instructed by solicitor Phelim O’Neill.
One of the men aged in his 40s faces 19 charges of sexually assaulting one of the women. Detective Garda Paul Dolan gave evidence of the arrest, charge and caution of the man, who made no reply to the charges.
Mr Fiachra Treacy, instructed by solicitor Phelim O’Neill, acted as his legal representative.
A man in his 40s has been charged with 17 counts of indecent assault, 14 of which are against one of the women and the other three against a second woman.
Detective Garda Darren Carter gave evidence of arresting the man, who made no reply when charged. Mr Damien Crawford BL, instructed by Tracy Horan and Company Solicitors, represented the accused.
A fourth man, aged in his late 40s, faces a total of nine charges.
He is charged with raping one of the women. He is further charged with four counts of rape as well as two counts of sexual assault and two counts of indecently assaulting the other woman.
Detective Garda Carter gave evidence of arresting the man, who made no reply to any of the charges. Solicitor Mr Ciaran Mac Lochlainn acted on his behalf on Wednesday.
Judge Éiteáin Cunningham granted bail to the four men, who are due to appear again at Falcarragh District Court on October 18, 2023.
Each man was bailed on his own bond of €500, nil cash with conditions imposed.
They are to reside at their usual residence and notify gardai of any change within 24 hours. Any change of address must be approved by gardai.
They are to stay away and have no contact, directly or indirectly, to include social media or otherwise, with the alleged injured parties in the case. They must provide contact details, including a telephone number and email address. They must be contactable at all times by phone and acknowledge receipt of any email.
The four men were also ordered to be of good character and commit no offence while on bail.
In the case of each man, reporting restrictions were imposed meaning they cannot be identified.