'SEX ASSAULT' GIRL, 10, STILL NOT FIT TO BE INTERVIEWED

Alleged victim 'settling in well' at new accommodation, court told

- GRAINNE NI AODHA

GARDAI have not yet spoken to the alleged victim of a sexual assault in west Dublin on medical advice, a court has heard.

The alleged assault of the girl took place on Garter Lane, Saggart, on Monday, Octob er 20. She had been in State care earlier that day.

The man charged with the sexual assault, aged 26, cannot be named because of legal restrictions.

He appeared before Judge Alan Mitchell at Cloverhill courthouse via video link.

The court heard that the investigation file from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) was not yet ready but was at an advanced stage. It also heard that gardai had not yet spoken to the complainant on medical advice but that she was settling in well in her new accommodation.

A solicitor for the defendant said they would not be making a bail application "at this stage".

He said the defendant is on a waiting list for the Central Mental Hospital and the judge said that without a fitness report, things could not progress.