A man who had sex with a 14-year-old girl has been allowed withdraw his plea of guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Valintan Stan, 26, of St Theresa's Garden, Rialto, had pleaded guilty to unlawful carnal knowledge of the teenager in a flat in north Dublin in April, 2003.
He was due to be sentenced today.
However, prosecuting counsel Karen O'Connor told Judge Frank O'Donnell that following this week's Supreme Court judgment, which declared the legislation governing statutory rape unconstitutional, the DPP was not proceeding with the charge.
The court found that the law failed to allow the defence of a genuine mistake about the girl's age.
Det Sgt Denis Smith earlier agreed with Niall Durnin SC, defending, that the girl told Stan she was 18 years old and the other girls in the apartment had claimed to be 15 and 17.
However, Stan was jailed for four years by Judge O'Donnell for a separate crime in which he kidnapped a man to rob him.
He admitted falsely imprisoning Iosif Chelaru at Clontarf Road on 27 June 2003 and the robbery of €600 cash, bank cards and a phone from him at Sutton Cross, and also stealing €260 cash from Mr Chelaru at the AIB, Artane on 28 June 2003.
Det Garda Grainne McDonnell said that while Stan did not physically assault the victim he was 'director of operations' on the night.
Stan, a Romanian national, has residency in Ireland and has fathered two children with an Irish woman. He had eight previous convictions in this country for road traffic and theft offences.
Det Gda McDonnell said Stan failed to appear in court in relation to these offences and fled to England where he was arrested. A European Arrest Warrant was issued for him and he was extradited to Ireland.
