Galway Bay fm newsroom - An appeal by a former county Galway hotelier jailed for five years for raping a 17-year-old employee after a staff party has been sent back to the Court of Appeal by the Supreme Court.
According to the Irish Times, 54 year old Brian Shaughnessy, formerly of Ballywinna, Craughwell, was convicted of raping the female part-time employee in the early hours of July 26th, 2010, in the presidential suite of the Loughrea Hotel and Spa, which he owned at the time.
He had denied the charge but was convicted by a jury in March 2013.
He was jailed for six years with one year suspended.
He lodged an appeal which was rejected by the Court of Appeal .
He then brought a further appeal to the Supreme Court which, this week, said the matter should be returned to the appeal court to consider issues, including credibility of the accused and possibly the failure of the competence of his legal representation at his trial.
