Child rapist gets 10 years after victim's 'torture' in quest for justice

A man has been sentenced to ten years imprisonment following his conviction at the Central Criminal Court in Sligo on 31 counts of sexual assault and rape offences against a teenage boy in County Donegal between 1995 and 2000. The 59-year-old, with an address in Ballina, Falcarragh, was found guilty by jury after a trial that represented the fourth legal proceeding in the case. Earlier trials had been discharged for legal reasons or resulted in hung juries. The complainant, now aged 39, described enduring six years of "complete torture" through the protracted court process since first reporting the matter to gardaí in October 2015. He testified four times during proceedings. Mr Justice David Keane imposed a headline sentence of thirteen years, reduced to ten years to account for mitigating factors including the defendant's lack of prior convictions. A three-year post-release supervision order was also imposed. The defendant intends to appeal his conviction, and has been registered as a sex offender.