Man appeals conviction of indecent assault of child, citing adverse media coverage

In Ireland, Stephen “Rossi” Walsh has appealed his conviction for the indecent assault of a child and cited adverse media coverage as a reason he could not get a fair trial. Walsh had a 10-year sentence imposed on him in February 2010 for raping a nine-year-old girl in the early 1990s. At Thursday’s (June,2021) hearing at the Court of Appeal, counsel for the appellant said that one of the grounds for appealing the conviction was that Walsh featured in articles in the newspapers on the day before his trial began and an article was headlined: “Rossi raped girl on beach, now she’s got justice”. The issue before the Court of Appeal was whether or not the adverse coverage of Walsh the day before his trial could mean his right to a fair trial was impaired.

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