Courts / Mayo / Report
Mayo man jailed for 11.5 years for sexual abuse of five girls
Summary
A 61-year-old man from Ballina in County Mayo has been sentenced to 11 and a half years imprisonment for sexually abusing five girls over nearly two decades. David Langdon pleaded guilty at Castlebar Circuit Court to seven sample counts of sexual assault on children aged between five and 12 years during the period from April 1996 to July 2015. The offences came to the attention of gardaí in 2019 when the youngest victim, then still a minor, made a disclosure. Judge Sinéad McMullan noted the abuse frequently occurred during sleepovers when the children should have felt secure. The judge cited victim impact evidence describing severe ongoing trauma, including fear of darkness, sleep disturbance, and self-harm. She characterised the offences as representing a serious breach of trust. The headline sentence of 16 years was reduced to 12 and a half years, with the final 12 months suspended, and backdated to October 2024.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Mayo man jailed for 11.5 years for sexual abuse of five girls. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- April 1996 Hearing Or Sentence
- July 2015 Hearing Or Sentence
- October 29 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2026-02-09 Publication
Case subjects
Defendant
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: At a sentence hearing, the court heard Langdon was known to the victims, who requested that he be named in media coverage while retaining their own anonymity. Judge McMullan set a headline sentence of 16 years but reduced this to 12 and a half years, with the final 12 months suspended.
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