Courts / Limerick / Report
Serial child abuser Shanahan fails in bid to overturn 11-year jail sentence
Summary
Patrick Shanahan, 77, a pensioner from Co Limerick, was convicted in August 2022 of 14 counts of sexually assaulting his two granddaughters, Daria and Tara Tobin, when they were aged 10 to 14 in 2010 and 2014. He received an 11‑year jail term, with the final two years suspended, after a unanimous jury verdict. Shanahan appealed to the Court of Appeal in Cork, arguing that the sentencing judge had wrongly treated his refusal to accept the jury's verdict as an aggravating factor. The Court of Appeal, led by Ms Justice Úna Ní Raifeartaigh, rejected the appeal, finding no error in the judge's remarks. The court noted the seriousness of the repeated assaults, the vulnerability of the victims, and the lack of mitigating factors, and upheld the original sentence. The appeal was dismissed for severity of sentence. Patrick Shanahan pleaded not guilty.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Serial child abuser Shanahan fails in bid to overturn 11-year jail sentence. Charges or matters: all charges, was sentenced in August 2022 to 13 years' imprisonment with the final two years suspended. Procedural stage: appeal. Findings: Convicted
When:
- August 2022 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2010 and 2014 Other
- 2024-03-12 Publication
Why: "However, we do not think it matters because in either eventuality we do not think the judge's noting of the situation amounted to the treatment of this circumstance as an aggravating factor," said Ms Justice Ní Raifeartaigh. CNI source report
Case subjects
Convicted Person
Charges: all charges, was sentenced in August 2022 to 13 years' imprisonment with the final two years suspended (Proven)
Plea: Not guilty
Finding: Convicted
Outcome: Convicted; Shanahan, who had pleaded not guilty to all charges, was sentenced in August 2022 to 13 years' imprisonment with the final two years suspended. The judge said there was "very little" by way of mitigation in the case but that the sentencing judge had ordered a two-year suspended period and allowed the sentence to overlap with the other jail term Shanahan is already serving.
Places mentioned
- Court of Appeal
- Limerick
- Limerick Circuit Criminal Court
Topics
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