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GEORGE GIBNEY HAS been found guilty of sexually abusing four girls in the 1970s and 1980s.
The 77-year-old former swimming coach sat motionless and did not visibly react as the Central Criminal Court jury of six men and six women found him guilty of 39 out of 40 counts of indecent assault and one count of attempted rape.
The jury acquitted him on one count of indecently assaulting one of the complainants on a date between 1976 and 1977.
Some of the complainants became emotional as the verdicts were returned. After the verdicts were delivered, they hugged family members and members of the gardaí.
Gibney could not be named throughout the trial due to the nature of the charges. He lost his anonymity upon being found guilty.
He was originally charged with 78 counts of indecent assault and one count of attempted rape.
He pleaded guilty before the jury to five counts of indecent assault, and not guilty to the remaining 74 counts.
The offences occurred on dates between 1971 and 1981 at a number of locations within the state, when the four complainants were aged between eight and 15.
It was the state’s case that the abuse took the form of kissing, inappropriate touching, digital penetration, forced oral sex and, in relation to one complainant, attempted rape.
Before they began deliberating, Mr Justice Mícheál O’Higgins directed the jury to return not guilty verdicts in relation to 33 counts of indecent assault relating to two complainants following legal submissions and “in the absence of evidence to support them”.
The jury deliberated for over seven hours on the remaining 41 counts.
Gibney was found guilty of 12 counts of indecent assault in relation to the first complainant on dates between 1975 and 1977. He was found not guilty of one count of indecent assault.
The five indecent assault counts he pleaded guilty to relate to this complainant.
He was found guilty of two counts of indecently assaulting the second complainant on dates between 1974 and 1979.
In relation to the third complainant, Gibney was found guilty of all 24 counts of indecent assault and one count of attempted rape on dates between 1971 and 1975.
He was found guilty of one count of indecently assaulting the fourth complainant on a date between 1980 and 1981.
Mr Justice O’Higgins remanded Gibney in continuing custody until a sentencing hearing, which was set for 29 July.
He thanked the jury for their service and reminded them of the “importance of the role that you have played”.
“It is clear to me that you have carried out your task with great attention and diligence and tremendous care and it is very much appreciated by myself and other parties,” the judge said.
He excused them from jury service for ten years.
The trial heard evidence over seven days from the four complainants, as well as a number of other witnesses.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
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