Courts / Mayo / Report
5-year sentence for offering boy (13) €50 for sex is cut to 12 months on appeal
Summary
A man from Ballyhaunis, County Mayo, has had his five-year prison sentence reduced to twelve months following a successful appeal against his original sentence. Thomas Folliard was convicted at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court of sexually exploiting a child in January 2016 after approaching a thirteen-year-old boy on a street in a Mayo town and offering him fifty euros for sex. The boy refused and reported the incident to his mother, who contacted gardaí. The Court of Appeal upheld his conviction, finding the trial satisfactory and the verdict sound. CCTV footage from a shopping centre and public building proved significant in establishing Folliard's presence and movements. However, the three-judge court deemed the offence fell at the lower end of the sentencing spectrum, noting the contact was brief, conducted in daylight on a busy street, and limited to verbal propositions. Folliard's previously unblemished character and community involvement influenced the sentencing decision. Thomas Folliard pleaded not guilty.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: 5-year sentence for offering boy (13) €50 for sex is cut to 12 months on appeal. Charges or matters: sexual exploitation of a child in a Mayo town in January 2016. Procedural stage: appeal
When:
- January 2016 Hearing Or Sentence
- January 13, 2016 Incident
- 2018-05-10 Publication
Why: When the boy's mother returned home, she was surprised to find her son in the house because normally he would be at GAA training. CNI source report
Case subjects
Appellant
Charges: sexual exploitation of a child in a Mayo town in January 2016 (Alleged Or Contested)
Plea: Not guilty
Outcome: He was unanimously found guilty by a jury after over an hour of deliberations and sentenced to five years imprisonment by Judge Rory McCabe last October.
Places mentioned
- Church Road
- Ballyhaunis
- Castlebar
- Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court
- Court of Appeal
Topics
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