:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/SISBYZDOAZF7BF6TSUG2FVQGTY.jpg)
A man based in the south-east of the country has appeared in court charged with 73 separate counts of sexual assault, rape and cruelty to his daughters.
The alleged offences took place between 2002 and 2016. The man was arrested in October of last year.
At Waterford City District Court on Monday, Judge John O’Leary formerly charged the defendant, who was appearing for the first time in court over the allegations.
No date was set for a further court appearance and the accused was remanded on continuing bail.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/ZU666T7JRRALPLRUHRHHE6G54Y.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/WPH4BAM4SHQFVLTYX24GORCKRU.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/6VTKTFZQW5NEA3LSIGO5FDKWDI.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/WZGZVSB35JF6JCTSPW73BWGNOM.jpg)
The judge imposed media reporting restrictions to protect the identities of the victims.
The offences carry a potential maximum penalty of a life sentence.
The man has been suspended from his place of work since the initial investigations into the allegations began.
A specialist team of detectives from the National Protective Services Bureau have been investigating the case, assisted by gardaí trained in conducting interviews with children.