Restaurant owner gets suspended sentence for sexual assault

A West Cork restaurateur was given an 18-month suspended jail sentence yesterday for sexually assaulting a woman dining at his premises in 2009.

John Murphy, aged 58, of Murphy’s Restaurant, East End House, Castletownbere, had spent the past fortnight in custody following his conviction by a jury at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.

Their verdict was an 11-1 majority in favour of a guilty verdict against him on the charge of sexually assaulting the woman on Sept 22, 2009.