CHARGED | 

Co Antrim woman ordered to stand trial accused of sexually abusing schoolboy

29-year-old Safron Smyth confirmed she understood the two charges against her

Paul Higgins

Today at 12:28

A Co. Antrim woman was today ordered to stand trial accused of sexually abusing a teenage boy.

Standing in the dock of Ballymena Magistrates Court, 29-year-old Safron Smyth confirmed she understood the two charges against her and that she had no objections to a Preliminary Enquiry, the legal step necessary to elevate any criminal case to the Crown Court.

Smyth, from Doury Grove in Ballymena, is on bail accused of engaging in sexual activity with a child aged 13-16 and of inciting the schoolboy to engage in sexual activity on 21 August last year and at the time “you did not reasonably believe that he was 16 years or over.”

While the alleged facts surrounding the charges have not yet been fully opened, the court has previously heard that the alleged victim is 15-years-old.

In court today, a prosecuting lawyer submitted there was a Prima Facie case against Smyth and defence counsel Neil Moore indicated that “having read the papers there are no contrary submissions.”

The court clerk told the alleged paedophile that although not obliged to she had the right to comment on the charges and to call evidence to the court on her own behalf but she declined to exercise that right.

Returning the case to Antrim Crown Court for trial and scheduling the arraignment to be heard on September, District Judge Nigel Broderick freed Smyth on her own bail of £500 with conditions not to contact two named families and to stay at least 100 metres away from a specific address in the town.

Mr Moore said he had lodged an application to have legal aid extended to allow a senior KC to be instructed and DJ Broderick said he would rule on that once he had read the submissions.