A Co Armagh man has appeared in court accused of repeatedly raping his wife and sexually assaulting his sister-in-law.
The man, who cannot be identified to protect his alleged victims, was also charged with sexually assaulting a girl aged under 12 and with drugs offences.
Appearing at Craigavon Magistrates’ Court by videolink from the offices of Madden & Finucane solicitors, the accused confirmed he understood the 29 charges against him.
He faces four counts of raping his wife and 10 counts of sexual assaulting her, and is further accused of sexually assaulting his sister-on-law on two occasions.
The man allegedly sexually assaulted a girl aged under 12 twice and he faces eight further charges of having indecent images of children.
The sex offences are alleged to have been committed over a time span between May 2016 and July 2020.
He also faces three drugs charges alleging that on September 4, 2020, he had class A ecstasy, class B cannabis and class C diazepam.
None of the alleged facts surrounding the raft of charges were opened in court but during the brief Preliminary Enquiry, the legal step necessary to elevate any case to the Crown Court, a prosecuting lawyer submitted the defendant had a case to answer.
Returning the case to Craigavon Crown Court and extending legal aid to allow a senior barrister to be instructed by the defence, District Judge Bernie Kelly scheduled the arraignment for April 25.
Freeing the defendant on his own bail of £500, the judge also added conditions that he is not to contact the complainants, is barred from a specific geographical area and he is prohibited from having any device which can take photographs or record video.
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