Barman jailed for seven years for rape and assault of girls

A Mayo barman who carried out increasingly depraved rapes and sexual assaults against two girls aged eight and nine has been jailed for seven years at the Central Criminal Court.

Kevin Owen McDonnell, (aged 39), of Adhann Or, Bangor Erris, Ballina had pleaded not guilty to 16 counts of sexual assault and 13 counts of oral rape against one girl; and 14 counts of sexual assault, 13 counts of oral rape and one count of anal rape against the second child on dates between June 1999 and September 2000.

He was convicted by a jury on all counts earlier last month.

His victims, Kelly Geraghty (aged 20) and Charlene Barrett (aged 21), both also from Bangor Erris waived their right to anonymity so their abuser could be named in the media.

Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan said having considered the girls’ victim impact report; “They showed great courage and resilience in giving evidence and I hope they are able to build on these qualities, and with help and support, go on to lead less troubled lives”.

He said the breach of trust involved in the case, was not as great as in other cases, because the girls had not been entrusted into McDonnell’s care.

Mr Justice Sheehan said he had taken into account McDonnell’s lack of previous convictions, his good work record and the fact that his “eventual integration into real life” due to the publicity of the case in the national media, would be difficult.

He sentenced McDonnell to seven years in relation to the anal rape count, six years for each of the oral rape charges and three years for the sexual assaults. He ordered that they been served concurrently and backdated the sentence to when he first went into custody after the trial.

Mr Justice Sheehan said he did not consider a post release supervision order was appropriate having heard the evidence from Sergeant James Gill at the sentence hearing.

Shouts of “scumbag” were heard in court as McDonnell was led away by prison officers.

Both girls wept and were embraced by their parents at the sentence hearing two weeks ago, as harrowing details of the assaults were read out by prosecution counsel, Ms Deirdre Murphy SC.

Sgt Gill told the court that all parties in the case were from the same small town in Co Mayo and the victims were best friends since “their first day of national school”.

The court heard Charlene’s mother ran a hairdresser’s in Bangor Erris which was located next door to the West End pub where McDonnell was a barman.

Sgt Gill told the court that in September 1999 the girls developed a habit of watching cartoons in the lounge area of the pub after school.

It was there, in a secluded area of the lounge that McDonnell first approached the girls and the assaults took place.

There were emotional scenes as counsel detailed the “increasingly bold” and “depraved” nature and frequency of McDonnell’s attacks on the girls which occurred “two to three times a week for a year.”

The court also heard that throughout the 12 month period McDonnell threatened the girls to keep the abuse a secret and would regularly give them sweets and soft drinks.

Counsel described the offences as being on the upper end of the scale of seriousness and asked Mr Justice Sheehan to take into account the girls young age, the depraved nature and frequency of the attacks and the fact McDonnell abused both girls simultaneously.

Ms Geraghty said outside of court after the initial sentence hearing, that the memory of the abuse will never leave her and to this day she suffers from panic attacks and cries herself to sleep most nights.

She said: “I am full of anger and resentment for what he did to me. Every time I think about what happened I feel sick.”

“I cried every night for two years before I told my parents because I knew how much it would break their hearts. I will never forget the look on their faces when I told them. They blame themselves but they shouldn’t because I have the best parents and family I could ever ask for.”

"I have to get on with my life and I am so glad I found the strength to come this far. I can only hope things will get better.”

Ms Barrett said that in the years after the abuse she would regularly see McDonnell around the locality and he would “stare and smirk” at her.

She said: “No matter the outcome the damage he has done to me will never leave me. I have to live with it for the rest of my life.”