Posted on 10/10/2015 4:35:26 AM PDT by markomalley
A Mayo man who was previously convicted for abusing his neighbour's two daughters has been jailed for eight years for the rape and sexual abuse of the same neighbour's son.
The victim, Padraig Hoban, returned from Australia to attend his abuser John Gannon's trial and sentencing.
Speaking outside the Central Criminal Court today with his parents and sister by his side, Mr Hoban said he was now considering remaining in Ireland, as “there's no reason to run away anymore”.
Gannon (71) formerly of Bohea, Co Mayo had pleaded not guilty to one count of indecent assault, seven counts of sexual assault, four counts of oral rape, one count of anal rape and one count of attempted anal rape of Mr Hoban at his home and locations near his home on dates between 1990 and 1994.
Mr Hoban, who was four years old when the abuse began and is now 28, also issued a statement in which he thanked the jury “for believing the truth of what I endured as a child at the hands of this so called human being”.
In 1995 Gannon was jailed for four years for indecently assaulting Mr Hoban's two sisters between 1990 and 1994.
In 2010, after attempting suicide, Padraig revealed to his family that he was also abused by Gannon in that time period.
During the trial Mr Hoban told Bernard Condon SC, prosecuting, that one of his sisters had a medical condition and her parents would bring her away for treatment, leaving the other children with Gannon. Abuse often took place when Gannon visited the bedroom where Mr Hoban slept.
Gannon also abused Mr Hoban in a shed used by local children to shelter when waiting for the bus to school. Mr Hoban testified that he was anally and orally raped there on multiple occasions. On one occasion he recalls a passing car preventing Gannon from carrying out an attack.
He recalled gardaí visiting his home to investigate his sisters' abuse but being unable to say anything “for fear of John Gannon”.
When asked on how many occasions the abuse took place in the shed, he said “I can say right now it happened five times, six times but it probably happened hundreds of times. It was so long ago.”
In a victim impact statement read to the court by Garda Paul Lafferty, Mr Hoban said he had a good childhood until he was four years old when the abuse began and he lost his childhood “in the cruelest way.”
He said that Gannon was his father's best friend, and he looked on him as a father figure until the abuse began. He said he remembered “a summer day when I was playing on a digger outside John Gannon's house” when Gannon took him to the bathroom and raped him.
“I cried out when he raped me. I always remember the pain, the fear and my backside being swollen afterwards,” he said. He remembered thinking that abuse must be normal and happen to everyone because it happened so often to him.
Sentencing Gannon to 13 years in prison with the final five years suspended, Mr Justice Tony Hunt said it was a “slightly unusual feature of this case” that Gannon had already served a sentence for abuse and been released into a community where he was shunned as a known sex offender.
Accepting “the change in situation brought about by the passage of time” as a mitigating factor, he said Gannon would have been in better health and in a better condition to face imprisonment had the complaint been made earlier.
He said it was clear that Mr Hoban was severely damaged by the abuse he had suffered and he hoped he felt vindicated by the jury's verdict.
In his statement today Mr Hoban thanked his family and friends for “the unconditional love and support they have shown me”, and Gda Lafferty and An Garda Siochana, who he said were “shining examples of what public service truly means”.
“I have had to live with the hell of this man's appalling crimes for many years. He sought to ruin my life and my family's life. However he has failed for we are better and bigger than him,” he said.
8 years now thats justice (src)
Sounds like the father is lacking in moral character. He should have taken care of the problem a decade ago.
I don’t think they have a death penalty in Ireland ... neither communal nor judicial ...
Mark!!! You are posting some truly horrific stories today...
Thank you, though... We do need to understand the evil we are confronting in this world.
I can’t understand how parents wouldn’t notice any changes in behavior after something like this happens. The four year old would experience a horrific injury. Wouldn’t you notice they’re in pain?
I can’t understand how parents wouldn’t notice any changes in behavior after something like this happens. The four year old would experience a horrific injury. Wouldn’t you notice they’re in pain?
_______________________________________________
You would think so. I mean, at that age, you’re still helping them get dressed, etc. It makes no sense.
When Mr Gannon is released he will return immediately to his usual practice. That is almost natural law. His prison time will not amelioraete his condition at all.
Gannon and the father were “best friends.” If that extended to being butt buddies then the children were just an extra offering for the friendship.
If he is ever released. He's 71, and has been sentenced to 8 years. Though that is far too light a sentence (in my opinion), I just don't see a 71 year old child rapist doing so well in prison.
Yeah. Especially after the abuse of the sisters was uncovered. You would think that even if they had not noticed any changes in behavior initially, they may have noticed in hindsight, once they knew about the other abuse.
He should be publically tortured with a splintered baseball bat.
No that would be against EU Rules.
Outrageous, personally I strongly support capital punishment. I don’t see why taxpayers should have to contribute to keeping these monsters in prison, only for them to get a pathetic sentence and then get released only to rape again. They’re all repeat offenders nearly.
One cannot rehabilitate them, because they enjoy what they do. Therefore, one can easily stop a repeat offender, that’s by executing them on their FIRST offence....they so much TOUCH a child, not even rape them, just touch them, then execute them.
Nice to see a thread on one of these crimes without a lot of the usual creepy Freepers who show up to insist that thus is all about the little boy getting a payday now.
I guess a few of those got themselves banned during the Sandusky trial.
better than no justice... Liberal support the creepy ones...
Must have been his “genes”. Isn’t that the homosexual cause de jour?
Another candidate for the “One behind the ear” club.
{”I can’t understand how parents wouldn’t notice any changes in behavior after something like this happens. “}
You would think. My friend, a psychologist who counsels troubled teens, did not know her grandson was abused by a family friend. The grandson was living with her at the time. It was not discovered until it was determined he had abused his stepsons.
The whole situation was strange to me. I was in contact with her grandson periodically and I saw nothing. I did not like the family friend though and caught him glaring at me a time or two at social events.
Speaking from experience - the family doesn’t see what the family doesn’t want to see.
5.56mm
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.