Man, 77, jailed for abuse of children

-Four victims were aged 13-15 when abused by ‘evil’ perpetrator

A 77-year-old man has been jailed for four and a half years for sexually abusing four children in north Kerry between 1989 and 1999.

The boys and girls were all aged between 13 and 15 when they were abused.

One of John Honan’s victims yesterday described him as “evil and twisted”.

At the Circuit Criminal Court in Tralee, Judge Ray Fullam said that the abuse of one boy, whom he had “groomed” with alcohol and pornographic material brought from Britain, had been “horrific”.

One girl was forced to continue to masturbate him even when she was physically exhausted from doing so, the judge noted.

Honan, originally from Co Clare, had been living in Britain but was a frequent visitor to north Kerry, where he lived in a caravan. This was where most offences took place, between 1989 and 1999.

He had served in both the British and Irish armies, and for 20 years had worked with McAlpine construction in Britain. He also worked in the Aughinish Aluminium plant in Clare, his sentencing hearing was told by David Sutton, defending.

Honan denied abusing any of the children but, after a trial spanning more than four weeks in May, the jury convicted him on 27 counts of sexual and indecent assault.

All four victims wanted him named, while preserving their own anonymity, Tom Rice, prosecuting, said yesterday.

Judge Ray Fullam ordered that Honan could be named but imposed certain restrictions to protect the identity of his victims.

Honan, whose wife and children were in Britain, and who has no previous convictions, was aged 52 when he began the abuse.

The trial heard how he had the trust of the children. In the case of one of the victims, now in his late 30s, Honan began by asking the boy to massage him. He also plied him with cigarettes, alcohol, and pornographic material.

The abuse of this boy, in the early 1990s progressed to masturbation to oral sex.

Honan told his victims what was taking place was “normal” and part of growing up.

Some of the victims described Honan as knowing that they had unfortunate circumstances and of him “taking advantage” of that.

Both women, in statements read by investigating detective Garda Paul Walsh, spoke of now being over-protective of their own children, and of trusting them with no one.

“He forced us to give evidence and to be cross-examined and we were accused of lying,” one women said in her statement.

“He convinced me what I was doing was normal,” the other woman said.

The older man, who had endured more abuse, explained how he had trusted Honan and how his innocence had been stolen. “I can’t to this day go into a public toilet if another man is there,” he said.

The younger of the boys, who was abused twice aged 13 in the late 1990s, said it had an immense impact on “what was an already unfortunate childhood”.

“I believe he is an evil and twisted man and he deserves whatever punishment he gets,” he said.

Judge Fullam said all four had been subjected to “degrading and humiliating sexual assaults” when each was at a vulnerable age, between 13 and 15.

In sentencing Honan to a total of four and a half years in prison, Judge Fullam took into account Honan’s age and poor health.

Mr Sutton said his client was going to appeal.