In a 2014 Christmas‑night incident, a 62‑year‑old Dublin man raped his 41‑year‑old niece while she slept in her own home. The victim reported the crime to Gardaí three months later after discovering a letter from the accused that included a lie‑detector test and claims of consensual sexual activity. The man denied the offence and claimed he had taken a lie‑detector test, but a jury found him guilty after a four‑day trial at the Central Criminal Court. At the sentencing hearing, the judge described the man's actions as "catastrophic misjudgments" and imposed a custodial sentence, noting the lack of any background relationship suggesting the offence. The victim, aged 44, expressed profound trauma and a sense of loss of safety in her own home. The accused was remanded in custody pending sentencing on 21 December.".
A man from Castleblaney, County Monaghan, has been sentenced to 18 years imprisonment following his conviction for sexually abusing six children and raping two of them over a period of nearly three decades. Peter Sharkey, aged 47, pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to three counts of indecent assault dating from 1987 to 1990, six counts of sexual assault between 1997 and 2015, one count of rape with an object in 1998 or 1999, and one count of rape in 2014. The victims, aged between nine and sixteen at the time of the offences, reported the abuse to gardaí following a complaint made in April 2015. Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy described Sharkey as "a paedophile of the dangerous kind" and imposed consecutive sentences to ensure appropriate punishment for the harm inflicted on each victim. The court heard victim impact statements describing lasting psychological damage. Sharkey was ordered to register as a sex offender and placed under probation supervision for five years following his release.
A 44‑year‑old Dublin man was sentenced to seven and a half years' imprisonment for sexually abusing his teenage nephew between 2004 and 2006. He pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual assault and four counts of buggery involving a male person under 17. The abuse began as oral sex when the nephew was 15 and progressed to intercourse when he turned 16. The judge described the conduct as "horrendous" and imposed a nine‑year sentence with the final 18 months suspended, directing the offender to use rehabilitation and treatment facilities while in custody. Garda Dermot English testified that the nephew was frequently at the uncle's home, especially during school holidays, and that the uncle recorded the abuse on his mobile phone. The victim's impact report detailed suicidal thoughts, nightmares, depression and a sense of being "dirty" as a result of the abuse.
A 50‑year‑old Dublin man was sentenced to nine years' imprisonment for sexually abusing his partner's two sons. He pleaded guilty to ten counts of sexual assault of the older boy, aged 13 to 19 at the time, and to sexual assault, attempted sexual assault and one count of sexual exploitation of the younger boy, who was about 15. The abuse began when the older boy was 13 and continued regularly until 2013, with the accused man masturbating and touching him at various locations, including the boy's home. The younger boy was abused in 2015, with two incidents confirmed and a third attempted. The accused offered the boys money and alcohol, and the older boy eventually overdosed on tablets before revealing the abuse. Judge Martin Nolan described the conduct as "reprehensible" and noted the victims' courage in coming forward. The court did not read victim impact statements in open court.
A 49‑year‑old Kilkenny man, whose name is withheld to protect the identity of a 33‑year‑old man, was convicted by a Central Criminal Court jury of 15 counts of rape and oral rape and one charge of sexual assault. He had pleaded not guilty to 35 counts, with the trial judge directing not guilty on the balance. He received a 10‑year sentence, the final year suspended by Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy on 8 February 2016. On appeal, Mr Justice George Birmingham quashed three counts of rape and the remaining count of sexual assault that related to periods before 1 January 1999. The quashing was based on new evidence from the Department of Social Protection showing the man began receiving rent supplement in May or November 1999, indicating he likely did not live at the rented address in 1998.
A Sligo man has been convicted and sentenced to seven and a half years imprisonment following a trial at the Central Criminal Court. Clement Limen, aged 45, of North Court, Quayside, Sligo town, was found guilty of raping two women at his apartment on June 2, 2014, and one count of sexual assault. The offences occurred after he met the victims during a night out at a nightclub on the June bank holiday weekend. Mr Justice Paul Coffey imposed the sentence after hearing victim impact statements detailing the significant trauma caused by the crimes. The court noted the aggravating circumstances surrounding the attacks. Limen has indicated his intention to appeal his conviction and to mount a separate constitutional challenge regarding his detention terms. A concurrent sentence of four years was imposed on the sexual assault conviction.
Retired consultant surgeon Michael Shine, aged 85, is seeking bail pending an appeal after being jailed for indecent assault convictions. Shine was convicted in 2017 of indecently assaulting two 15‑year‑old patients in the mid‑1970s at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital and his private clinic in Drogheda, between 1964 and 1991. He faced eight charges but was acquitted on all but the two convictions. Judge Cormac Quinn described the breach of trust by a senior doctor as one of the most aggravating factors and imposed consecutive 10‑month sentences for each victim. Shine's lawyers applied for a week to manage his affairs and medication, but the judge rejected this. In the Court of Appeal, his barrister Hugh Hartnett SC requested an early bail application, citing Shine's perilous health. Judge George Birmingham set 21 December for the bail application, and Shine was not present for the procedural hearing. Michael Shine pleaded not guilty.
In a Court of Appeal decision dated 8 December 2017, the court held that a convicted paedophile, aged 83, was not prejudiced by a 45‑year delay before he was tried for raping a niece. The man, whose name is withheld to protect the victim, had been found guilty in 1971 of rape and sexual assault of an 11‑year‑old child in County Clare. He had denied the charges and was sentenced to seven years imprisonment in 2016. He appealed, arguing that the delay had caused prejudice, but the appeal was dismissed. The court noted that the victim's mother, the man's sister, and the victim's siblings were present during the alleged incidents, and that the victim's testimony described two separate assaults, including a rape. The court also considered the death of the man's girlfriend in 2008, who might have been an accomplice, but concluded that her absence did not create a grave prejudice sufficient to halt the trial.
A 47-year-old man from County Longford has been sentenced to 11 years imprisonment at the Central Criminal Court following his conviction on charges relating to the sexual abuse of his teenage nephew. The jury found him guilty of 11 counts of rape, 10 counts of defilement, five counts of sexual assault, and one count of sexual exploitation of a child. The offences occurred between 2007 and 2014, spanning a period of seven years when the victim was aged 13 to 20. During trial, the accused claimed the relationship was consensual, a claim rejected by the court. Mr Justice Paul McDermott noted the defendant's use of substances and money to secure the victim's silence, describing his conduct as a grave breach of trust. The judge acknowledged the defendant's employment history and community involvement but highlighted his complete absence of remorse and failure to enter a guilty plea. The man has been directed to register as a sex offender and will be subject to five years of probation supervision following release.
A 77-year-old appellant has lost his appeal against the severity of his prison sentence. The man, whose identity is protected to preserve the victim's anonymity, was found guilty by a Central Criminal Court jury following a retrial of 14 counts of rape and 60 counts of sexual assault committed against his daughter between 2002 and 2006. In May 2011, Mr Justice Paul Carney imposed concurrent 15-year sentences for each rape count and 10-year sentences for each sexual assault count, with the final three years suspended. The Court of Appeal, led by Mr Justice John Hedigan, dismissed the appeal, finding no error in the sentencing judge's approach or conclusions. The court noted the aggravating factors, including the breach of trust, the victim's age, the duration of the offending, and the absence of genuine remorse. The appellant's primary grounds argued that the judge failed to adequately consider his good character, lack of extreme violence, and potential for rehabilitation. However, the court determined that the most significant mitigation, an early guilty plea, was unavailable. Additionally, the court could not address the appellant's successful Supreme Court challenge regarding the constitutionality of Section 249.1 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, as no leave to add these grounds had been sought in this specific appeal. The three-judge panel concluded that the sentence was appropriate given the circumstances.
In a case heard at the Central Criminal Court, a 42‑year‑old man pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a 13‑year‑old boy who had recently come out as gay and had been a victim of prior sexual abuse. The assault took place at the child's Dublin home on 6 November 2015. The defendant, who was aware of the boy's sexual orientation and past abuse, entered the boy's bedroom, climbed into the top bunk of the bed and attempted to force his penis into the boy's bottom. The boy's mother and stepfather witnessed the defendant leaving the bedroom, and a DNA profile from semen in the boy's underwear matched the defendant. Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy sentenced the man to five years' imprisonment, placed him on the sex offender list and ordered three years of post‑release supervision.
A retired surgeon, Michael Shine, aged 85, was convicted by a jury at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court of indecent assault on two 15‑year‑old patients in the mid‑1970s. The court found that Shine had abused the trust of patients and the hospital by groping the boys during medical examinations. He was sentenced to 20 months' imprisonment, with consecutive 10‑month terms for each victim. Shine pleaded not guilty to eight charges of indecent assault at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital and his private clinic in Drogheda, covering incidents from 1964 to 1991, but was acquitted on the remaining charges. The judge noted Shine's advanced age, severe angina, and risk of dementia, yet rejected a request for a suspended sentence. The case highlighted the breach of trust by a senior medical professional and the lasting impact on the teenage victims.
A 43‑year‑old man was convicted by a jury in the Central Criminal Court for raping his wife in their home in May 2014 and for threatening to cut her face and to kill her the next day. He was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment, with the final two years suspended, in June 2016. The Court of Appeal upheld the conviction on 1 December 2017, finding that none of the grounds of appeal presented by the defendant's counsel succeeded. The appeal was dismissed by Mr Justice Alan Mahon, sitting with Mr Justice George Birmingham and Mr Justice John Edwards. The appeal did not address any new evidence or procedural errors; it simply confirmed the original conviction and sentence. The case remains at the appellate stage, with no further changes to the conviction or sentence announced.
In December 2017, a jury at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court convicted 85‑year‑old retired surgeon Michael Shine of indecently assaulting two 15‑year‑old patients in the mid‑1970s. Shine had pleaded not guilty to eight charges of indecent assault at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital and his private clinic in Drogheda, covering incidents from 1964 to 1991. The court heard victim impact statements and medical records. One victim described being tied to a bed, restrained, and having his testicles massaged by Shine, leading to lasting anxiety, insomnia and depression. The second victim recounted being massaged at a follow‑up examination for undescended testes, feeling forced to ejaculate to end the assault. Shine denied wrongdoing during the trial but was found guilty of the two assaults; he was acquitted of four other charges. Lawyers argued that imprisonment would be fatal due to Shine's severe angina, heart stents and risk of dementia, and requested a suspended sentence.
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court hearing, a 48‑year‑old massage therapist was tried for a single count of sexual assault. The accused allegedly removed a client's underwear, touched her vagina, kissed her bare bottom and claimed he "just couldn't help himself." The client, who had visited the therapist's practice for sports injuries, testified that she had been treated for neck and shoulder problems and had attended the clinic four or five times. She described the session in detail, noting that she had removed her top, bra and trousers while lying face down, and that the therapist massaged her lower back before placing a hand on her vagina. She said she objected, the therapist removed his hand, but later kissed her bottom and made further remarks. The case remains before Judge Karen O'Connor and a jury. The unnamed 48-year-old pleaded not guilty.
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court trial, a 36‑year‑old man accused of sexually assaulting a 35‑year‑old foreign national on UCD campus was found not guilty by the jury. The defendant, who cannot be named, had met the woman on Tinder and arranged to meet after several weeks of communication. He drove her in a blue BMW to a field on campus, where she alleged he became aggressive and assaulted her. The defendant claimed he believed they were meeting for a hook‑up and that the woman was hysterical, stating he tried to kiss her and that she pushed him back. Gardaí interviews were presented, with the prosecution arguing the defendant's account was self‑serving and inconsistent. The defence argued the defendant's actions were reasonable given the woman's reaction and that she was not seeking sex. The jury heard closing speeches before being sent home for deliberation. The case remains at the trial stage.
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court hearing, a 36‑year‑old man pleaded not guilty to sexual assault of a foreign national on UCD campus on 23 July 2014. The complainant, who met the accused on Tinder, did not inform Garda Declan Ryan about the eight minutes the accused's blue BMW spent in a laneway before the alleged assault. Ryan said he interviewed the complainant twice, on 25 and 28 July, and that she identified the Nova running pitch as the assault site. He presented CCTV footage showing the car entering the laneway, leaving after about eight minutes, and then approaching the pitch before departing again. Ryan admitted he never asked the complainant about the laneway time, focusing instead on the pitch. The judge announced that evidence would finish the next day and closing arguments would begin.
A former army officer, Timothy O'Sullivan, aged 66, was sentenced to eleven years' imprisonment for sexually assaulting and raping two teenage boys between 1991 and 1996. The victims, aged 13 to 16 at the time, were repeatedly subjected to oral and anal rape, threatened with death or burial in the mountains, and given alcohol that sometimes made them ill. O'Sullivan, who was in his forties during the offences, used his position and the boys' vulnerabilities to groom and abuse them at various locations, including his home, a bathhouse, car parks, pubs and hotel rooms. The judge noted the aggravating factors of grooming, the victims' youth, and the abuse of trust, while also recognising mitigating factors such as the offenders' guilty pleas. The sentence was imposed by Mr Justice Tony Hunt at the Central Criminal Court, following the victims' courageous impact statements and the investigation that began after complaints in 2011 and 2013.
On 23 July 2014, a 36‑year‑old Dublin man was charged with sexual assault of a foreign national at UCD campus. The trial, held at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, is in its fifth day. Witness Criona Cullen, a dog walker, testified that she was walking her dogs around 10 pm when she heard a woman call for help. The woman, speaking limited English, claimed she had met a man on Tinder who had taken her to the campus and attempted to have sex with her. Cullen offered assistance, arranging a taxi and offering to pay the fare. A flatmate of the complainant later testified that the woman was frightened and that the man had taken her to an abandoned area. The case is before Judge Cormac Quinn and a jury of twelve. The accused has pleaded not guilty.
A 36‑year‑old Dublin man pleaded not guilty to sexual assault of a 35‑year‑old foreign national at UCD campus on 23 July 2014. The woman, who met the man on Tinder, agreed to meet him after weeks of communication. He picked her up and drove her to a green area on campus. She testified that he became aggressive, placed his hand on her neck, touched her legs, shouted at her, and tried to restrain her. She feared for her life, thought he would rape her, and tried to open the doors, which were locked. Gardaí were informed after the alleged attack. CCTV footage showed the car was there for about one minute, a point contested by the woman. The trial is before Judge Cormac Quinn and a jury of twelve.
During a trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, a 36‑year‑old Dublin man pleaded not guilty to sexual assault of a 35‑year‑old foreign student on UCD campus on 23 July 2014. The student explained that she had used Tinder to meet Irish people and practice English. She had communicated with the accused for weeks, receiving explicit messages. She agreed to meet him, was taken to a secluded green area, and was sexually assaulted. She described the accused as becoming aggressive and "changing completely." She admitted she did not end the online conversation after receiving explicit texts, citing her own stupidity. She could not sleep the following night, fearing judgment for using Tinder and entering a stranger's car. The case is proceeding before Judge Cormac Quinn and a jury of twelve.
The High Court set aside two asset transfers from retired teacher Michael Byrne to his estranged wife Maureen Byrne, ruling them fraudulent and deliberately intended to frustrate Mr Cormac Walsh's recovery of a €200,000 damages award. The transfers involved Byrne's interest in the former family home and lands at Rosewell, Templerainey, Arklow, Co Wicklow, which were moved into Maureen Byrne's sole name in May 2012 and October 2015. Mr Walsh, who had been awarded the damages in 2015, had received no payment from Byrne. Byrne, aged in his 80s and living in Spain, had been convicted in 2014 of indecent assault and sentenced to eight years with four suspended. He denied the transfers were fraudulent, claiming they were made in good faith and for housekeeping reasons. The court found Byrne was aware of the civil action and the subsequent award, and therefore the transfers were set aside. The Byrnes were not present at the hearing.
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court hearing, a 35‑year‑old woman testified that a 36‑year‑old man she met on Tinder attacked her in his car on the UCD campus on 23 July 2014. She had come to Ireland to learn English and had been using Tinder to find people to practise with. After chatting online, the man invited her to meet and offered a drive. She agreed, and he picked her up. While parked near a green area, he turned off the engine, locked the doors and became aggressive, calling her names and attempting to touch her. She tried to resist, struck him, and managed to escape, after which he fled. The case remains before Judge Cormac Quinn and a jury. The man pleaded not guilty to sexual assault.
Jadesola Agbalade, 51, pleaded guilty on 20 July 2016 to knowingly distributing child pornography after forwarding a clip that showed a child aged between two and five being raped. She claimed she sent the video via WhatsApp to warn a friend about the dangers of leaving her children with her boyfriend. The clip was discovered during an investigation of a man arrested for credit card fraud at Dublin Airport in July 2017; the phone used to send the clip was traced back to Agbalade. She admitted to receiving and sending the clip, and also sent it to a female friend with three children, who has not been identified. Agbalade has no prior convictions, lives in temporary accommodation, and has one teenage child and two adult sons. Judge Karen O'Connor adjourned the case to 1 March 2018 to obtain a psychological report, citing that Agbalade did not understand the gravity of her actions.
A Cavan man has been sentenced to five years imprisonment at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court following his guilty plea to offences against a 14-year-old boy. Michael Galligan, aged 40 and residing in Springfield, Cavan, pleaded guilty to three counts of defilement of a child under 15 years and two counts of sexual assault. The offences occurred in 2015 after the accused made contact with the complainant through a website. The court heard they met on three occasions that year. Judge Martin Nolan imposed a seven-year sentence with the final two years suspended on strict conditions. The judge noted Galligan should have recognised the boy's age after their first meeting. Galligan, who holds previous convictions including sexual assault and breach of sex offenders legislation, has been in custody since 2015. His defence counsel highlighted his early guilty plea and cooperation with psychiatric services while in prison.
David Radford, 21, was released from prison in March after a three‑and‑a‑half‑year sentence for sexual assault. The final 12 months of his sentence were suspended on the condition that he complied with the probation service. He had 15 previous convictions, including three for sexual assault. At an October hearing Judge Martin Nolan found that Radford had breached bail conditions by refusing emergency accommodation and sleeping rough. He had also begun using substances. The judge said Radford's refusal to live in the accommodation provided by the probation service meant the suspended portion of his sentence had to be re‑activated. Radford was remanded in custody for one month, and the judge noted that the decision was not without difficulty, as Radford had been ordered to cooperate fully with the probation service. The court also heard that Radford had been attacked on several occasions and was concerned for his safety in a hostel.
A man from Carrigallen, County Leitrim, has had his eight-year prison sentence upheld by the Court of Appeal following his conviction for serious sexual offences against a child. Damien Reilly, aged 40, pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to three counts of sexual assault and five counts of rape committed between 1994 and 2000, when the victim was between nine and approximately fourteen years old. Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy imposed the eight-year sentence in January 2017. Reilly's legal team argued that the sentencing judge had failed to adequately account for mitigating factors beyond the guilty plea. However, Mr Justice Alan Mahon, delivering judgment for the three-judge panel, rejected this submission, finding that the four-year reduction from the headline sentence of twelve years reflected all mitigating circumstances. The court emphasised the gravity of the offences, which occurred over an extended period and exploited a position of trust. While acknowledging the sentence represented the outer limit of appropriateness, the court found it remained within judicial discretion.
David Cashin, aged 49, was convicted in 2014 of sexual assault and buggery of a teenage girl between October 2002 and February 2005. He received concurrent sentences totalling seven years imprisonment. Cashin applied for an extension of time to appeal his conviction and sentence, but the Court of Appeal refused on the basis that justice would not be served by allowing the extension. The court noted that Cashin had denied the charges, claimed his former solicitor advised him he could not appeal, and that his grounds of appeal were generic and not specific to the facts of the case. The court also highlighted that no new information had been presented to support a successful appeal. The refusal was made by Mr Justice George Birmingham, with Mr Justice Seán Ryan and Mr Justice Alan Mahon presiding. The victim was 14 at the time of the abuse, and Cashin was 35.
In November 2017 a 65‑year‑old man was sentenced to 11½ years for raping and sexually assaulting his nine‑year‑old daughter between August 1991 and August 1993. He brought a shotgun into her bedroom, threatened to shoot her mother if she reported the abuse, and raped her on a subsequent occasion before assaulting her four or five more times. The abuse ceased abruptly, and the daughter only disclosed it to a relative in 2006, with no action taken. The offences came to light in December 2012 after a family gathering, leading to a Garda investigation. The man denied all charges, claimed he did not accept the verdict, and intends to appeal. The judge, citing the man's age and health, imposed concurrent sentences, suspended the final 15 months, and back‑dated the term to July when he first entered custody. The unnamed man was convicted.
Ronan McCormack, a 75-year-old former GAA coach and farmer from Cloonloo, Co Sligo, was sentenced at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for indecent assaults committed in the 1970s. McCormack had pleaded not guilty to 26 counts of indecent assault of one boy between June 1972 and March 1975, as well as three counts regarding a second boy. A jury convicted him of 14 counts of indecently assaulting two boys aged seven to 13, while acquitting him of 15 other counts. Judge Martin Nolan imposed consecutive sentences of two years and one year on five specific counts, resulting in a total prison sentence of seven years. The judge noted that the maximum penalty for indecent assault of a male in the 1970s was two years, increasing to five years for a second conviction. McCormack was sentenced globally, with all remaining counts taken into consideration. This follows a 2014 conviction where he received a seven-year and ten-month sentence for abusing schoolboys in the 1980s. Victim impact statements described long-term psychological effects, including depression and distrust, with one victim noting McCormack showed no remorse.
Jadesola Agbalade, 51, pleaded guilty on 20 July 2016 to knowingly distributing child pornography after forwarding a clip via WhatsApp to warn a friend about leaving her children with her boyfriend. The clip showed a child aged two to five being raped by a man and had circulated internationally since about 2014. Gardaí traced the phone number to Agbalade, who admitted receiving and sending the clip. She is currently in temporary homeless accommodation and has no prior convictions. The court heard that she had one teenage child and two adult sons at university. Judge Karen O'Connor received a detailed probation report and adjourned finalisation of the case to 21 November 2017. The case remains at the sentencing stage.
A 21‑year‑old man pleaded guilty to one count of engaging in a sexual act with a 14‑year‑old girl at an address in Dublin on 17 July 2015. The girl was taken from a teenage disco in Donnybrook, where she had drunk vodka and felt ill. She asked the man, a Facebook acquaintance, to pick her up because she was too afraid to call her mother. He drove her, she fell asleep, and he forced oral sex and later had her masturbate him. After driving to McDonald's, he dropped her home. The girl was found crying on her stairs, and her parents were informed. The man was arrested a few days later, admitted the offence, and apologized via text. He has no prior convictions, has intellectual difficulties and a borderline learning disability, and has attempted suicide after the offence. He is receiving counselling and anti‑depressants.
Jerry O'Keeffe, a 69-year-old retired soldier from Youghal, Co Cork, was sentenced at the Central Criminal Court to ten years in prison for sexually abusing his two daughters. He pleaded guilty to three charges of rape, five of indecent assault, and one of sexual assault. These nine sample charges represented a total of 78 offences committed between January 1980 and March 1987. Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy imposed a seven-year sentence for the rape offences and a three-year term for the sexual assaults, ordered to run consecutively. The judge noted that the crimes destroyed the victims' childhoods and that O'Keeffe's guilty plea, entered late in proceedings, provided limited mitigation. He also rejected age as a mitigating factor. O'Keeffe was ordered to be added to the sex offenders register and must liaise with probation services for three years post-release. The victims, Amy Barrett and Melissa O'Keeffe, waived their anonymity and expressed satisfaction with the sentence, describing it as a necessary step for closure and protection of other children. The court heard detailed victim impact statements describing the long-term trauma inflicted by the abuse, which occurred at family homes in Youghal. The sisters reported the abuse to gardaí in 2014 after initial reports in 1999 were withdrawn under family pressure.
John O'Donoghue, a 58‑year‑old former teacher and table tennis coach, pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography on March 27, 2012, at his former home in Weaver's Hall, Stepaside, Dublin 18. Gardaí searched the premises in 2008, retrieving 2,500 images and 13 movie files across a computer, laptop, memory stick and two external hard drives. Of the images, 496 were Category 1 (explicit sexual activity) and 2,048 were Category 2 (genital exposure). Two of the movie files contained explicit sexual activity, while 11 showed genital exposure. O'Donoghue had four prior convictions for indecent assault of a young boy in 2013, for which he received a three‑and‑a‑half‑year sentence with the final 18 months suspended. He has since pleaded guilty, served a sentence, completed a Safer Lives programme, and undergone individual and group therapy. The court will sentence him on November 10, 2017, and he will remain on the list of child sex offenders indefinitely.
Michael Murray, aged 46, was sentenced to 19 years in prison after an appeal by the Director of Public Prosecutions increased his original 15‑year term. The Court of Appeal found the original sentence unduly lenient, citing the appalling nature of the offences, his extensive prior criminal record and the absence of any mitigating factors. Murray was convicted of rape, attempted rape, oral rape, aggravated sexual assault, child abduction, threats to kill or cause serious harm, false imprisonment, and theft. He lured a woman into an apartment by claiming an elderly woman was dying, bound and drugged her, raped her, and abducted her four‑year‑old son, abandoning the child in a city centre square. The judge noted the severity of the crime, the prolonged duration of the assault, the use of restraints and threats, and the lack of any mitigating circumstances.
In a 2017 trial, retired consultant surgeon Michael Shine, aged 85, was found guilty by a jury of indecent assault on two teenage male patients during the 1970s. The convictions concerned incidents between 1974 and 1976 at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital and Shine's private clinic in Drogheda. Shine admitted attending to the patients but denied any inappropriate conduct. Testimony from one victim described being restrained on a bed, having a blanket and rubber bungee straps applied, and the doctor's hand slipping under the blanket to massage his testicles. A second victim recounted that during follow‑up examinations for undescended testes, Shine massaged the base of his penis. The jury acquitted Shine of several other charges, including four counts of groping other teenage boys and one count of assault between 1988 and 1991. Judge Cormac Quinn remanded Shine on continuing bail until December 1 for sentencing.
A jury at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court acquitted retired surgeon Michael Shine, aged 85, of four counts of indecent assault on three teenage patients in 1964, 1970 and 1976. Shine had pleaded not guilty to seven charges relating to alleged assaults on five patients between 1964 and 1991 at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital and his private clinic in Drogheda. The jury found him not guilty of the four counts involving the teenagers, citing a lack of corroborating evidence and missing medical records that could confirm the alleged encounters. Judge Cormac Quinn warned jurors that reasonable doubt arising from the delay in the complaints required them to give the benefit of the doubt to the accused. Shine denied ever seeing the patients and denied any inappropriate conduct during examinations. The remaining three counts, involving alleged assaults on two teenage patients between 1974 and 1976, were not addressed in the verdict.
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court case, retired surgeon Michael Shine, aged 85, faced eight charges of indecent assault against five teenage male patients at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital and his private clinic in Drogheda between 1964 and 1991. Shine pleaded not guilty. Judge Cormac Quinn warned the jury that convicting on the uncorroborated evidence of any complainant would be dangerous, emphasizing that the prosecution must prove beyond reasonable doubt that Shine attended to the complainants, that the alleged acts occurred, were not legitimate medical examinations, and were intended as indecent. He noted the absence of credible independent corroboration for any complainant and urged jurors to exercise special care when assessing each claim. The judge also highlighted the challenges posed by the 42‑year delay, including missing records and the difficulty of defense, and advised that any reasonable doubt should favor the accused. The jury was sent home for the night, with deliberations to resume the next morning.
The Court of Appeal has upheld the conviction of a man sentenced for the sexual abuse of a 14-year-old girl. Fergus Carson, aged 55, of The Green, Main Street in Convoy, County Donegal, was found guilty by a Central Criminal Court jury of six counts of sexual assault between May and September 2012. He was sentenced to five years imprisonment with the final 15 months suspended in March 2016. Carson's appeal challenged the fairness of the trial, contending he was denied adequate opportunity to cross-examine his accuser due to her demeanour in the witness box. Mr Justice Alan Mahon, delivering judgment, stated the complainant gave competent and impressive evidence. The court found the trial was fair, that the complainant made herself available for comprehensive cross-examination, and that any hesitancy benefited the defence. The three-judge court dismissed the appeal.
A 51‑year‑old mother of three, Jadesola Agbalade, pleaded guilty on 20 July 2016 to knowingly distributing child pornography after she forwarded a clip of a child being raped to a friend via WhatsApp. The clip, showing a child aged between two and five, was an international recording that had circulated since about 2014. Gardaí discovered the clip when investigating a man arrested for credit‑card fraud at Dublin Airport in July 2017; the man's phone contained the clip and the sender's number traced back to Agbalade. She admitted to sending the clip to a female friend with three young children to warn her against leaving her children with her boyfriend. Agbalade has no prior convictions, lives in temporary accommodation, and will be sentenced on 9 November. The court ordered a probation report and remanded her on continuing bail.
A 43‑year‑old man of Arabic origin was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment for raping and threatening to kill his wife in 2014. The Central Criminal Court convicted him of rape, threats to cut her face, and threats to kill her over the phone. The jury could not reach verdicts on charges of head‑butting and serious damage to her. Judge Isobel Kennedy imposed a 12‑year sentence, suspending the final two years for rape, and gave lesser concurrent sentences for the other counts. The man has now appealed to the Court of Appeal, arguing that the trial judge should have issued a tailored warning to jurors about potential racial bias, citing Islamaphobia as an established reality in Ireland. The appeal is pending judgment.
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court trial, retired surgeon Michael Shine, aged 85, pleaded not guilty to eight charges of indecent assault against six patients at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital and his private clinic in Drogheda between 1964 and 1991. Shine testified that he had no memory of treating four of the complainants and denied any indecent conduct. He admitted treating two patients, recalling a 1974 case of undescended testicles and a 1976 case of an infected toenail, but denied any inappropriate touching. The prosecution presented medical records linking three complainants to Shine, while the defense highlighted the absence of records for the others. Judge Cormac Quinn withdrew the charge against a 15‑year‑old boy, instructing the jury to find Shine not guilty of assaulting him. The trial's evidence phase concluded, with lawyers set to deliver closing arguments on Tuesday.
The trial of retired surgeon Michael Shine, aged 85, continues at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. He denies eight charges of indecent assault against six teenage male patients at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital and his private clinic in Drogheda between 1964 and 1991. The prosecution closed its case; Judge Cormac Quinn addressed a legal issue today. A jury of four men and eight women will return tomorrow morning, with the trial expected to finish next week.
Peter Hilliard, 54, pleaded guilty in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to two counts of sexual assault against vulnerable residents at Bloomfield nursing home between February 2013 and June 2016. The first assault was discovered when a colleague saw a video of Hilliard touching an elderly resident's breasts on his Facebook page. Garda Shane Whelan reported that the video also showed a male present during the assault. Following a search of Hilliard's devices, investigators found a second video of a similar attack on another resident. Hilliard had no prior convictions. After his arrest he expressed remorse and mentioned suicidal thoughts. The judge noted Hilliard's loss of employment and his engagement with counselling. A suspended sentence of 18 months was imposed, conditioned on Hilliard keeping the peace, attending weekly therapy, and remaining under Probation Service supervision for 18 months.
The prosecution case in the trial of retired surgeon Michael Shine, aged 85, has concluded. Shine, who denies the allegations, faced eight charges of indecent assault against teenage patients at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital and his private clinic in Drogheda between 1964 and 1991. Six male witnesses testified that Shine allegedly groped their genitalia during medical examinations for various injuries. On the seventh day, expert medical witness Richard Stephens explained to the prosecution that there is no medical necessity for genital examinations in such cases, while to the defense he noted that examining the groin in a male trauma patient can be reasonable. He clarified that a brief, appropriate examination of the groin, with a sheet covering the testes, is not inherently wrong. The trial will continue before Judge Cormac Quinn and a jury of four men and eight women. Shine maintains his innocence for all alleged incidents.
During the Charleton tribunal, a Tusla social worker, Lisa O'Loghlen, testified that the absence of documents from Sergeant Maurice McCabe's file appeared to be a cover‑up, though she could not identify who was responsible. The tribunal was examining claims that allegations of sexual abuse had been used to smear McCabe. O'Loghlen had reviewed the file in 2016 as part of a Sexual Abuse Review Team exercise. She noted that documents had been removed before she received the file, or that they had never been added. The tribunal chair, Justice Peter Charleton, questioned whether a cover‑up had occurred, to which O'Loghlen replied that it "looks that way" but she could not say who. She said she did not think An Garda Síochána was involved, but Tusla might have covered its own mistakes. O'Loghlen's report stated that fair procedures had not been followed and that McCabe's file was among the worst managed in the region.
The trial of Dr. Michael Shine, aged 85, continues before Judge Cormac Quinn and a jury of four men and eight women. Shine denies eight charges of indecent assault against teenage boys at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital and his private clinic in Drogheda, covering incidents between 1964 and 1991. The prosecution alleges assaults at the hospital on unknown dates in 1964‑1965, 1970‑1972, 1975‑1976, and an unknown date between 1988‑1991, and at the clinic on unknown dates in 1973, 1974, and 1975. Evidence presented includes the storage of medical records related to the case.
In a Dublin case, a 50‑year‑old man who had sexually abused four sisters in their home was sentenced to nine years and six months imprisonment with four years of post‑release supervision after an appeal. He had pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to six counts of sexual assault against the girls, who were aged between seven and thirteen at the time of the assaults, which took place between 2002 and 2004. The man, who had a prior rape conviction, was the partner of the girls' mother and lived with them when the assaults occurred. The original sentence of 12 years was reduced because the Court of Appeal found that the judge had double‑counted aggravating factors for the eldest sister's prolonged abuse and the one‑off assaults on the other three sisters. The appeal judge, Mr Justice John Hedigan, ruled that the new cumulative sentence of nine years and six months would not be suspended.
William McGlone, aged 34, was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment for 21 counts of sexual assault, rape and oral rape of his twin sisters, Wendy and Stacey, between 1995 and 2001. He began abusing them at age 13, when they were eight, and continued until he was 19. McGlone admitted to raping Wendy with a shampoo bottle and a vibrator, and to assaulting Stacey when she was eight. He pleaded guilty to seven counts of assaulting Wendy, three counts of raping her, and one count of assaulting Stacey, but denied other charges. The court noted his history of alcohol and drug abuse, a personality disorder diagnosis, and claims of being abused himself. He was ordered to post‑release supervision for seven years. The sisters testified about the abuse, describing it as frequent and devastating, and expressed shame, guilt and ongoing trauma. The sentence was back‑dated to his first custody in February of the year. William McGlone was found guilty.
Tom Humphries, a former sports journalist, was sentenced by the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to two and a half years in prison for grooming and sexually abusing a teenage girl. The court heard that Humphries exchanged over 16,000 text messages with the girl over a three‑month period ending March 2011, then met her and the abuse escalated to sexual acts over a 14‑month period. He pleaded guilty to four counts of inviting a child to a sexual act between January 2010 and March 2011 and to two counts of defilement between December 2010 and February 2011. The victim, aged about 16, was a 47‑year‑old Humphries' daughter. Judge Karen O'Connor noted the impact on the victim's childhood and mental health, and imposed the sentence with no post‑release supervision, backdating it to his entry into custody on 3 October 2017. The sentence was concurrent with a two‑year term for the exploitation charge.