Barry McDonagh jailed for rape and sexual assault of teenager

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

Barry McDonagh was jailed for rape and sexual assault at the Central Criminal Court, with a seven-and-a-half-year sentence reported on 21 October 2024. The offences took place in Cork between 1999 and 2000, when the victim was aged 15 to 16.

A jury found McDonagh guilty of 17 counts of rape and one count of sexual assault after a trial in June. The court heard that the abuse occurred at his home and business premises while his teenage sister-in-law was staying with him and her sister.

The judge set a 10-year headline sentence, suspended a quarter of it and backdated the sentence to 28 June for time already spent in custody. She identified abuse of trust and the age difference as aggravating factors; McDonagh had no previous convictions.