‘A truly shocking spectacle’: Midlands Court hears how convicted sex offender gave victim a box of pens

A convicted sex offender who, in a “truly shocking spectacle”, presented his victim with a box of red bic pens following a gross act of indecency, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison, with the final six months suspended.

The man (44), who cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim, appeared before Judge Kenneth Connolly at Longford District Court where the sentence was ordered to follow orders previously handed down for other sexual offenses.

The man, who was around 20 years old at the time of committing the crimes, was charged with nine counts of gross indecency towards a child aged 11 to 13 under Art. 4 Criminal Law (Sexual Offenses) Act 1993

The defendant was initially charged with sexual assault, but in an amended indictment pleaded guilty to three counts of gross indecency. Nolle prosequi was filed on six other similar charges.

The offenses took place over a year and five months, from early 2005 to mid-2006, and the court heard there was one incident of gross impropriety at a GAA facility in the Midlands every two months.

Everything is based on an indictment concerning the same child who experienced violence from another man for the same period of time. This man was the main perpetrator of violence and his case was pending in court.

Detective Garda Damien McGovern told State Attorney Shane Geraghty BL and the court that the defendant began abusing the victim midway through the sexual assault he suffered at the hands of the second man.

“I don’t know what age I was. There has been so much abuse that I cannot be sure,” the victim told Gardaí in a statement.

He told gardaí that his “main perpetrator” – the second man – was in a conference room at the GAA premises with the victim and was playing the footage on television.

The injured party was unable to recall whether the footage was pornography or video clips of the abuse he was the victim of, but told gardaí that the accused entered the room, was not shocked by the footage and even stayed to watch.

The court ruled that the incidents of gross indecency involving the defendant involved the victim remaining fully clothed while the man masturbated until he ejaculated. On one occasion, the defendant gave him a box of red bic pens, and later the teachers “gave” them to him for having them.

The victim told gardaí that the events were always the same – he remained fully clothed and the accused did not touch his private parts, but each time the child masturbated him until he ejaculated.

Like the second perpetrator of violence, he did not record any incident and did not threaten him not to reveal the abuse to anyone. The violence only stopped when the child stopped attending the GAA grounds.

The child disclosed the abuse to her father in 2012 and statements were taken. A search warrant was executed at the defendant’s home and gardaí learned that he had left the jurisdiction to live in the UK.

The defendant later moved to New York, where he married. He was extradited from the US and arrived in Ireland in April 2019. At that time he was also charged with more serious sexual offenses against another child.

The man was scheduled to appear in the Central Criminal Court for child abuse, but pleaded guilty at the last minute to see the charges in the indictment, including attempted rape, seven counts of anal rape, four counts of sexual assault, two counts of assault causing harm and harassment in various places in the years 2004–2010.

In 2021, the basic sentence of 13 years and six months in this case was reduced to 10 years and six months, with the final 18 months suspended.

The DPP then referred the case to the Court of Appeal for the undue leniency of the sentence imposed by the Central Criminal Court. The Court of Appeal imposed a main sentence of 17 years in prison, which was reduced to 14 years and six months with the final 18 months suspended.

In mitigation, Mr Morgan Shelley BL told the court that his client in this case had already pleaded guilty, which allowed the victim to breathe a sigh of relief in the knowledge that she would not have to give evidence at trial.

Shelley explained that the man’s health had deteriorated significantly and his “very bad gastrointestinal symptoms” had made his life in prison “extremely difficult”. There are also concerns that the defendant may have prostate or colon cancer.

The prison governor’s report shows that the defendant has four P19s on his record, one of which concerns an attempt to escape while concealing a weapon.

The defendant also suffers from clinical depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) because he “was a victim of very serious sexual abuse and rape by a family member during his childhood.”

“Unfortunately for victims of sexual abuse, what often happens is that this type of behavior is normalized and the cycle repeats,” Shelley said.

Judge Kenneth Connolly, after hearing the evidence, concluded that the offenses had been committed at a “truly terrible time” because the defendant had been abusing another boy at the same time.

“He (the defendant) was also aware that the other man was abusing the victim but did nothing about it,” Judge Connolly said.

“The injured party remembers receiving a box of red bic pens as a gift, which was a truly shocking spectacle.”

The aggravating factors were the serious nature of the crime, as well as the frequency and period in which it occurred. There was also a breach of trust and the abuse occurred against the background of other abuse, with the defendant viewing the child as an “easy target.”

“He left the jurisdiction and led a completely separate life in the US. In fact, he even got married – he paid no attention to what he left behind,” Judge Connolly said.

He noted that no statement was presented to the court regarding the impact of the victim on the accused because the victim was unable to distinguish between the effects of the violence at the hands of the accused and the violence inflicted by her “main perpetrator”.

“But I don’t need a victim impact statement to understand the lifelong harm done to a survivor of sexual violence,” he said.

He noted that the penalty for gross indecency was a maximum of two years, before setting a core sentence of two years on one count in the indictment.

He emphasized mitigating factors such as the guilty plea, the defendant’s deteriorating health condition, the defendant’s apology and expression of remorse for the crime, and the fact that the defendant himself suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of the sexual harassment he suffered.

“But it’s a double-edged sword. “He should know better than anyone the damage and pain that sexual violence causes to a victim,” Judge Connolly said, noting that the defendant should show “more empathy.”

After mitigating, he proceeded to impose an 18-month sentence for one count of gross indecency. The other two charges to which the defendant pleaded guilty were upheld.

This penalty is to be served continuously with the period of imprisonment of the accused. Judge Connolly also suspended the final six months of his sentence for 18 months, on condition that the defendant uses probation to find appropriate counseling services that may be available for his post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).