A decade spent grooming girls for sexual abuse

WILLIAM “Billy” O’Brien spent 10 years grooming young girls and sexually abusing them in his house.

Sometimes he sexually assaulted two girls at one time. By his own admission, O’Brien lost interest in the girls when they reached the age of about 12 and moved on to groom a younger sister for abuse or else transferred his attention to a family with younger daughters.

Detective Sergeant Seán Leahy told Judge Patrick J Moran at Cork Circuit Criminal Court how the 10 years of sexual abuse came to light. One of the victims saw a new family with two young daughters moving to the area and she saw O’Brien befriending this family.