A pensioner appeared in court on Tuesday accused of sexually assaulting a woman on Christmas Day in 2021.
Appearing at Newtownards Magistrates Court, 74-year-old James John McKenna confirmed he was aware of the two charges against him and that he did not object to his case being returned to the Crown Court.
McKenna, from Harmony Court in Belfast, faces two charges of sexual assault on 25 December 2021 alleging that he touched the complainant “the circumstances being that the touching was sexual, that she did not consent to the touching and you did not reasonably believe that she so consented.”
A prosecuting lawyer submitted there was a Prima Facie case against the pensioner which was conceded by McKenna’s defence lawyer.
Freeing McKenna on £400 bail with a condition not to contact the alleged victim, District Judge Mark Hamill returned the case to Downpatrick Crown Court and scheduled the arraignment to be heard on 8 January.