Donegal businessman jailed for sexual assault of teenager
Michael Bolton
A Co Donegal businessman who admitted sexually assaulting a teenage girl over a decade ago has been jailed for two years.
Patrick McLaughlin, now aged 45, admitted touching the girl when she was 15.
The accused man appeared for sentence at Letterkenny Circuit Court while his victim, who is now in her 20s, appeared by audio-link from outside the country where she now resides.
McLaughlin, from Dungloe, admitted to one charge of sexual assault of the young girl while another similar charge was taken into consideration.
The count to which the accused pleaded guilty happened in 2014 when the girl was 15 and McLaughlin was 34.
The charge is contrary to section 2 of the Criminal Law (Rape) (Amendment) Act, 1990.
The incident happened at an address in the Dungloe area and happened when McLaughlin had consumed alcohol.
Gardaí outlined details of the incident which led to the charge being brought against McLaughlin.
The girl made an official complaint to gardaí when she was aged 21, and the accused man was later arrested and interviewed.
The case was listed for trial, but McLaughlin, who has no previous convictions, eventually pleaded guilty.
A victim impact statement was read out in court on behalf of the young woman who had been abused.
It said: "I lived in silence for years, trapped in shame and confusion but inside I was breaking."
"He knew right from wrong but he chose to hurt me.”
She revealed how she has had to undergo counselling to cope with her trauma and almost lost her only relationship as a result of being unable to cope.
She said she found some comfort in alcohol but knew that wasn't the answer.
The victim added that one of the most difficult parts was how her parents thought they had failed her, but this was never the case. She said seeing their heartache brought another level of trauma for her.
She said she knew she had to speak out, and by doing so, she was taking back her voice and was no longer a child, and hoped she was helping every woman and girl who cannot speak out.
Barrister for McLaughlin, Mr James McGowan, SC, with Peter Nolan, BL, instructed by solicitor Rory O'Brien, said his client was forthright in his admissions, attributed the incident to his high level of alcohol, but denied he was aroused or had an attraction to the victim.
Mr McGowan said McLaughlin had not attempted to blame the victim in any way and accepted it was a complete breach of trust.
He said the incident had been like a grenade thrown, but that he takes full responsibility for it.
He said his client had drunk heavily in his 30s due to the pressures of having a young family, but did not drink much recently.
He is separated from his wife but sees his children at football games and other events.
The accused is physically and mentally healthy, cycles long distances, and operates a sign company which employs five people locally and is doing his best to keep his business going.
However, the court was told that he was suicidal because of the court case and had engaged in talk therapy.
A letter on behalf of McLaughlin was read out to the court.
In it, he said the letter was only a small way to start to show his utter remorse for "the damage I have caused."
He accepted that he had completely broken the young woman's trust and added that he hoped the closure of the case can bring the young woman and her family some comfort.
The court was told that McLaughlin had offered a token of remorse of €5,000 to his victim, but that she did not want to accept it. However, McLaughlin is prepared to make the same contribution to Women's Aid.
Mr McGowan added that his client does not benefit from an early plea, but that he is of good character and had played a part in his local community and in employing a number of people locally.
He added that a custodial sentence will have a serious impact on all of this, and he asked Judge John Aylmer to be as lenient as possible when sentencing.
Judge Aylmer said the sexual assault by McLaughlin was a "gross breach of trust".
He said the tariff for such an offence on a girl under the age of 17 years was 14 years in prison.
The Judge added that the fact that McLaughlin had been drinking was no excuse and was not in ease of him as far as the court was concerned.
He said an aggravating factor in the case was the very negative impact his actions have had on every aspect of the girl's life, adding that while she appeared strong in dealing with the impact, it is still a struggle for her and has impacted very seriously on her own intimate relationship with her partner.
However, he placed the assault on the lower end of the scale for such offences and one which merited a sentence of three and a half years in prison before mitigation.
In mitigation, Judge Aylmer said McLaughlin had no previous convictions, had not come to adverse attention since the incident, was otherwise of good character and was a hard-working and productive member of the community.
He entered a guilty plea on the day of the trial and that spared the victim the ordeal of a trial but added that he would get less benefit than if he had put his hands up from the outset.
He also noted that the probation report said the accused was of a moderate risk because of his impulsiveness and binge drinking.
Taking all these factors into account, he reduced the sentence to one of three years in prison.
However, the Judge said he was going to invest those mitigating factors into rehabilitation and was proposing to suspend the final 12 months of that sentence, meaning McLaughlin will serve two years in jail.
The suspension of the balance of the sentence is on condition that during that time, McLaughlin abstains completely from alcohol and goes under the supervision of the probation services.
He was ordered to reside at an agreed address and attend addiction counselling if so directed.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help.
