Wolves in the Henhouse > Dutch TA suspected of sexually abusing 20 children; Irish Boxing Assoc. President gets 39 months for raping girl

 

School personnel at every position need desperately to be vetted much more carefully, everywhere.

Dutch primary school worker suspected

of sexually abusing 20 children

A 25-year-old man from Helmond is suspected of sexually abusing 20 children under the age of 12. The abuse took place at the primary school where he worked as well as at several addresses where he worked as a babysitter. He confessed to most of the crimes, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) said on Tuesday.

“The police and the OM believe there are 20 victims. There are currently no indications that there are more victims. The abuse is said to have taken place between 2018 and 2024,” the OM said.

The suspect’s arrest was announced over two months ago, but few details were released at the time. It was clear that many parents had spoken with police about a man working as a teacher’s assistant after a report was filed that the man had sexually abused an underage girl.

Local media reports indicated that the incidents involved a worker at the Kindcentrum Mondomijn in Helmond. The man primarily worked with children aged 7 to 12. “Until recently, the man worked as a teacher assistant at a primary school in his hometown,” the OM confirmed.

After the man’s arrest, the police investigated his phone and found images of the sexual abuse of children at the school and several babysitting addresses. “Because of these images, the man is also suspected of producing and possessing child pornography,” the OM said. “No indications have been found that the man distributed the images.”

The authorities have informed all involved parents and offered professional help to the children and parents.

The suspect is still in custody. The first pro forma hearing in this case is scheduled for Wednesday.

Former Boxing Assoc president Gerard O’Mahony

sentenced to 39 months in prison for sexual assault

Jury found Dungarvan man (67) guilty of single offence involving a young woman on a date between January 1st, 2009 and December 31st, 2010

Former Irish Athletic Boxing Association (IABA) president Gerard O’Mahony has been jailed for three years and three months for sexually assaulting a 19-year-old woman more than a decade ago.

O’Mahony (67), of Murphy Place, Abbeyside, Dungarvan, Co Waterford, had denied a charge of sexual assault on a date unknown between January 1st, 2009 and December 31st, 2010, but was convicted unanimously by a jury after a trial at Waterford Circuit Criminal Court.

Sentencing O’Mahony on Tuesday, Judge Eugene O’Kelly paid tribute the woman for delivering a “poignant victim impact statement”. She said she was just 14 when she first met the defendant and was “ready to expose the full extent of the harm Gerry O’Mahony caused – not just in the moment of the sexual assault but in the years of suffering that followed”.

“It is difficult to articulate in words, the sense of having body, my trust and my sense of security taken in a single night ... It transformed every breath, every step, every moment that followed but because silence has helped to protect the wrong person for too long,” she said.

“The panic attacks come without warning. My chest tightens, my vision blurs and suddenly if feels like my mind is turning against me. I am fighting to stay present, fighting against memories that I can never seem to outrun.”

During the trial, the woman said O’Mahony sexually assaulted her after spiking her drink. She had called him to ask for a lift home, which he had told her to do so if she was ever unable to get a taxi.

“I did have drink taken, but I had my wits about me. He kept insisting I have a drink, I said ‘No, no, I’ve had enough’ but he kept insisting and eventually I gave up and said I would have a vodka. He went into a back room and came out with a drink,” she said.

“I had a couple of sips. I felt a little bit rocky. I said ‘I’m f***ed after that, I’ve had enough’ ….. I ended up lying on my back and he asked me did I want to have sex, I said ‘No’ ... I felt dissociated, it was an out of body experience.”

She said she came to with her leggings and underwear around her ankles and O’Mahony performing oral sex on her. She said O’Mahony told her ‘it was just a bit of fun’ but she told him it was not.

She said he text her the next day asking if she remembered the previous night and she said she did not. He later sent her a photo but she could not open it. When she met O’Mahony later that day, he showed her a photo of her vagina on his phone. The woman told him to delete the image, but he refused. It was later found on his phone by his wife and daughter.

Det Sgt Peter Clifford, of the Waterford Protective Services Unit, told the court the woman reported the matter in 2022 when she saw a message from O’Mahony on social media seeking support to become IABA president in which he spoke about respect. She challenged him about what he had done.

Gardaí arrested O’Mahony on August 26th, 2022 and he denied the allegation, Det Sgt Clifford said. The court heard O’Mahony had no previous convictions other than one for a minor traffic matter.

Defence counsel Colman Cody said his client did not accept the verdict and maintained his innocence. He said O’Mahony disputed the suggestion that he had spiked the woman’s drink. He asked that the judge impose a lenient sentence because of O’Mahony’s age and poor health.

Judge O’Kelly noted a number of testimonials from people in Dungarvan, where O’Mahony had helped organise the boxing club and worked for the local community, and said these were mitigating factors as was his previous good character.

However, he said there were also a number of aggravating factors including the breach of trust, the huge age difference, the fact he encouraged the girl to have more drink knowing she was intoxicated and incapable of giving consent, and the fact he took a photograph.

He said he believed the offence merited a headline sentence of five years, but he reduced it to four years on foot of the testimonials and suspended the last nine months on the basis of O’Mahony’s age and poor health.

What about the aggravating factors? Did we forget them?