Eucharistic Minister 'living a lie' as child abuser

A man who served as a Minister of the Eucharist has had his appeal against his sentence dismissed at the Court of Appeal. The applicant, whose identity is protected to safeguard the victim, was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years imprisonment at Sligo Circuit Criminal Court in November 2020 after pleading guilty to 23 counts of sexual assault against a young girl spanning from 1999 to 2011. Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy, sitting with Court President Mr Justice George Birmingham and Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy, rejected the appeal on Friday. The court found the sentence imposed by the trial judge fell within the proper margin of appreciation. The judgment noted the appellant had been "living a lie for many years" despite his charitable work and standing in his local parish. The victim, now in her thirties, disclosed the abuse in her late twenties. Counsel for the Director of Public Prosecutions outlined the serious and protracted nature of the offending, which caused the complainant significant psychological harm.