The Court of Criminal Appeal has reserved its judgement in the Wayne O'Donoghue case.
The Director of Public Prosecutions today began its appeal against the leniency of the sentence imposed on O'Donoghue for the killing of 11-year-old Robert Holohan.
O'Donoghue was sentenced to four years in prison last January for the manslaughter of his neighbour in Midleton, Co Cork in January 2005.
He was acquitted of the murder but pleaded guilty to his manslaughter.
Today lawyers for O'Donoghue said the allegations made by Robert Holohan's mother, Majella, in her victim impact statement -- that traces of Wayne O'Donoghue's semen were found on her son - were completely and totally false.
Senior Counsel Blaise O'Carroll said DNA testing had shown that the semen was not O'Donoghue's.
At the time of sentencing, Mr Justice Paul Carney told Robert's parents the sentence would upset them. But he said he was balancing all the factors in the case as best as he humanly could.
The DPP James Hamilton based his appeal on a number of grounds.
He was expected to argue that the sentence was too lenient because it failed to take into account O'Donoghue's concealment of the killing and of Robert's body.
He was also to argue the sentence did not recognise O'Donoghue's attempt to divert the focus of the garda inquiry away from him and onto others.
And the DPP said the sentence failed to take into account O'Donoghue's age, size and strength and his admission that he grabbed Robert around the throat.
