Sex abuser apologises to victim publicly

Sentencing adjourned as man acknowledges abuse during 1970s

A “pillar of the community”, who turns 78 today, publically acknowledged yesterday the sexual abuse of a girl back in the 1970s and he apologised to her.

Tony McCarthy, of Fairylawn, Coolatooder, Ballinhassig, Co Cork, was before Cork Circuit Criminal Court for sentencing yesterday after recently pleading guilty to eight counts of indecently assaulting the girl, from when she was aged 12, from 1969 to 1977.

His victim said to him from the witness box yesterday: “I want to say, Tony McCarthy, you robbed me of my past, you are destroying my present, but from today I will not give you my future.

“Before I was sexually abused I was a happy, carefree, trusting and loving child. When he began sexually abusing me he ripped my world apart and turned everything upside down. In the blink of an eye he robbed me of my childhood safety, trust and innocence.

“When he used my body sexually for his own pleasure he caused me to experience what no child should ever have to experience. I felt intense fear, confusion and shame.

“Tony McCarthy, then an adult and 20 years my senior, chose to use me sexually as a child for his own gratification, he destroyed my childhood and my life. His actions ripped me apart. It has taken the rest of my life to get back to where I am today.

“I want to thank all those men and women who have been brave enough to report the sexual violence in their childhood who have paved the way for me,” she said.

Garda Ashling Keating said the sexual abuse consisted of McCarthy fondling the girl’s genital and breast areas.

Garda Keating said the father of four was involved in wholesale business in Cork and was seen as an upstanding member of the community, active in the church and with no previous convictions.

Donal O’Sullivan, defending, said the accused unreservedly apologised to the victim for what he did to her.

The injured party said that what continued to hurt her was the way in which some people continued to blame her for what Tony McCarthy had done to her as a child.

Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin adjourned sentencing until November 26 and said: “It is very significant to me that the victim puts a lot of stress on people, other than the defendant, who blame her continuously and wrongly. Those people – whoever they are – should reflect on their stance in the meantime.

“The accused admitted his guilt, acknowledging he is the person who wronged the victim. He has publically vindicated the lady’s stance. He has acknowledged before the world that he wronged her. It is not open to anyone else to gainsay that.”