A man has been jailed for seven and a half years on sample charges of sexual assault which took place over a seven year period, and made, according to the judge “a very tragic case indeed”.
Mullingar Circuit Court heard how the victim, who was 10 years of age when the abuse started in 1983, was groomed by Michael McConville of Newtown Lawns, Mullingar.
The offences only came to light after the victim began to get in trouble and in what Judge Tony Hunt called a very dignified victim impact statement, he spoke of the confusion, panic, and fear that went through his mind when he was a vulnerable young person.
“It was no exaggeration to say that his life had been ruined by sexual abuse from the age of 10,” said the judge.
He said the abuse must have been particularly painful, humiliating, and distressing for the victim, who was not a willing participant and that McConville’s offences were “abominable and repugnant to all right-thinking persons”.
What made the case worse was that the boy was “preyed upon” and tempted with significant financial rewards and that his likes, such as cars and music were played upon.
“It’s hard to imagine the mental pain, let alone the physical pain these acts must have inflicted on the injured party,” he said, as he jailed the former army sergeant.
He noted that there had been no previous convictions, and that McConville’s early plea had saved the victim having to give evidence and also showed that the victim’s truthfulness hadn’t been impugned.
He said McConville had come to realise the seriousness of his actions when he had children himself.
He accepted that there had been difficulty in McConville’s life when the offending started, but the death of his mother and other issues “were very little explanation for such a prolonged and serious course of actions”.
Because there was no likelihood of reoffending, the judge ordered that there be no post release supervision, though McConville will have to keep gardaí informed of his whereabouts.
