Second witness 'lied' in sex case

Margaret Hewitt and George Anderson

A second witness lied during Northern Ireland's biggest child sex abuse case, the Court of Appeal has heard.

Ex-Barnardos care workers Margaret Hewitt and George Anderson were convicted in 2004 for sexually and physically abusing young people.

A defence solicitor said a statement from a sister of a witness, who had already admitted lying to the court, was also unreliable.

On Tuesday, the court quashed 13 of the 53 convictions against Hewitt.

Hewitt, 69, formerly of Drains Bay, Larne, is serving 11 years in jail for sexually abusing young people in her care at the Macedon children's home in Newtownabbey.

Witnesses

Anderson, 47, was sentenced to 18 years for two counts of rape and 15 other charges.

Under cross examination on Wednesday, Detective Jeff Boyce, who led the inquiry, was asked whether there had been any contact between the witnesses before the trial.

The detective told the court he had worked on the case for five years and "would have known if there had been any hint of witnesses conferring".

Under cross examination he admitted that he knew several of the witnesses had met at a social event a few weeks before he took one of their statements.

However, he denied knowing that they had met for dinner on the same night.

It also emerged there had been contact between a brother and sister who had given evidence, but the detective said he had no previous knowledge of that.

Detective Boyce also denied a suggestion by defence lawyer John Creaney QC that his investigation did not follow proper police protocol.

The appeal continues.