79-year-old man jailed for raping teenage girl in 1994

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Michael Sinnott was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment by the Central Criminal Court after being convicted of raping a 15-year-old girl at her home in March 1994. The proceedings were reported on 2 March 2026. The judge, Mr Justice Paul Burns, set a headline sentence of 12 years before reducing it to 10 years after considering Sinnott’s family, medical issues, work history and testimonials.

Sinnott maintains his innocence and does not accept the jury’s verdict. The report said he had no previous convictions.