A man who falsely accused Louis Walsh of groping him in a nightclub has been sentenced to six months in jail.
Leonard Watters pleaded guilty to making two false reports to gardaí that the X Factor judge sexually assaulted him in Dublin's Krystle nightclub last April.
The 24-year-old father-of-two from Navan, Co Meath, had apologised publicly to Mr Walsh at a hearing last November.
During the November hearing, the court was told that on 9 April, 2011, Mr Watters had been socialising with friends in Dublin and met Louis Walsh and others.
They later went on to Krystle nightclub on Harcourt Street.
At around 4am he approached a garda on Harcourt Street and made the allegation of sexual assault.
He was taken to the Mater Hospital to be examined, repeated the allegation to a nurse and doctor there and repeated it again to gardaí at Mountjoy Garda Station.
He made two statements to gardaí, one on 20 June and one on 27 June.
During the course of the second statement he was told that CCTV footage from the nightclub did not support his allegation and he admitted that it was false.
Judge Dermot Dempsey today granted Watters bail to appeal the sentencing on condition he lodged €100 in cash with the court.
