Man appears in court for attempting to have sexual communication with a child – Armagh I

Armagh Courthouse

A man accused of attempting to communicate sexually with a child will appear before the Crown Court next month.

The 43-year-old appeared before Armagh Magistrates' Court in Newry on Tuesday for the purpose of a preliminary investigation, the legal process by which a case is referred to the higher court.

Marek Ryba of The Glen, Runcorn, England, is charged with attempted sexual contact with a child.

The court heard that the offence was allegedly committed between May 17, 2022 and June 28 of the same year.

The defendant is accused of intentionally attempting, as a person aged 18 or over, to communicate with a person under the age of 16 for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification, where the communication was of a sexual nature or was intended to encourage the person to engage in sexual communication.

The indictment alleges that the defendant could not reasonably have assumed that the person was 16 years of age or older.

When the accused appeared in the dock, he raised no objection to the conduct of a preliminary investigation.

The public prosecutor explained that, based on the files before the court, there was prima facie evidence that needed to be answered.

The defense has not argued otherwise.

District Judge Anne Marshall was satisfied that there was a prima facie case and released Ryba on bail of his own choosing of £500.

He is due to appear at Newry Crown Court on October 10 for arraignment.

The defendant was ordered to remain at an approved address and refrain from unsupervised contact.

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