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Convicted Paedophile Vincent Mckenna Aka 'Irish Observer'
LIAM A RYAN
Internet users with an interest in Irish politics and history may have come across the bombastic, self-indulgent yarns by a blogger styling themselves ‘Irish Observer’ invariably posing as a supposedly ‘reformed’ former member of the Provisional IRA. In fact, by ‘Irish Observer’s own admission, he is none other than a convicted paedophile, Vincent McKenna, who was jailed by Cavan Circuit Court, Ireland for 6 years on 31 counts of sexually abusing his daughter, Sorcha, over a 12 year period, in 2000!
McKenna’s years of sexually abusing his daughter were described by an Irish judge, Justice Geoghegan, as 'particularly depraved.’ For years previously, McKenna had masqueraded as a ‘reformed terrorist and paramilitary victims campaigner, when in reality the real victim, of course, was his daughter who suffered horrific protracted sexual abuse at his hands. On release from prison, McKenna reinvented himself as a writer and blogger using the pseudonym ‘Irish Observer’ and continued the fiction of being a self-proclaimed, so-called ‘reformed terrorist.’
McKenna first surfaced in the Six Counties at Queens University Belfast in the mid-1990′s, where he flirted with campus politics and tried unsuccessfully to enter the fairly security-conscious sphere of Irish Republican support groups on campus. His wild, Walter Mitty-type claims of previous involvement with the Provisional IRA were quickly exposed as fantasy, at best, and most probably a sinister attempt to infiltrate anti-imperialist groups as an agent provocateur. Always a keen manipulator, as all paedophiles and self-promoters are, McKenna produced a badly written ‘book’ making unlikely claims regarding his ‘secret’ past as a former-Irish Republican activist. True to form, he claimed to be, not just a rank and file member, but a senior secret ‘operator’ within the Provisional IRA’s intelligence department. So ‘very secret’ in fact, that no-one had actually heard of him and no-one has EVER confirmed those fantastic claims of McKenna’s alleged involvement with the Provisional IRA!
McKenna’s book was a classic example of a ‘vanity publishing’ potboiler and infinitely forgettable. McKenna would have been seen regularly in Queens University central quad during Spring term engaging his younger peers with tales of insincere remorse over his self-proclaimed ‘IRA past’ while we now know and it is backed up by court transcripts, that his true ‘past’ was abusing a little girl, his own daughter!
This is a lengthy article, well worth the read. Please go to HubPages for the rest of the article. Below is a list of subtitles and a few quotes you will find in the full article.
Pro-British Collaborator
FAIT
Shameless Self-Publicist McKenna
McKenna Convicted Of 31 Counts of Child Abuse!
“It is a foul lie and slander that I have been interviewed by the gardai regarding sexual abuse allegations. It is Provo propaganda”, he said. “I will not be charged with anything by the Monaghan gardai.” (Vincent McKenna, 1999)
“I can never put it behind me but it’s good that people now realise what he has done.”(Sorcha Mckenna, 2000)
The Mask Slips!
McKenna Led Off In Handcuffs Convicted of 31 Counts of Raping His Daughter
convicted-paedophile-vincent-mckenna-aka-irish-observer
Irish Observer/Vincent McKenna
What Next For Vincent McKenna/Irish Observer?
Self-Styled Criminologist?
Warning!
One Of Ireland’s 12 Most Dangerous Sexual Predators!
Brave Daughter Sorcha waived her right to anonymity to help expose McKenna as the beast he is convicted-paedophile-vincent-mckenna-aka-irish-observer
BBC News | NORTHERN IRELAND | Abused daughter relives her nightmare
Paedophile police officer, 62, who sexually abused young girl in 1970s
avoids jail after two failed suicide attempts left him in a wheelchair
By KAYA TERRY FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 10:41 EST, 23 November 2021
A disgraced police officer who sexually abused a young girl while he volunteered at a children's home during the 1970s is spared jail after two failed suicide attempts left him in a wheelchair.
Timothy Lively, 62, from Bidford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, was shown 'mercy' from a judge at Warwick Crown Court on Monday after they heard he is now in a wheelchair as a result of driving his car into a tree.
The former sergeant and detective constable was convicted of two charges of indecent assault and one of gross indecency back in May 2019.
Lively committed the offences in the 1970s when he was a Warwickshire police cadet and volunteering at a children's home.
The police officer appeared at Warwick Crown Court in a wheelchair on Monday and was handed a 20-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months.
Sentencing him, Judge Anthony Potter said he was sparing him from prison following his two failed suicide bids.
He said: 'Following his conviction Mr Lively made first an attempt to take an overdose, and then a couple of days later made a bid to end his life by driving his car at speed into a tree.
'That has left him confined to a wheelchair and has profoundly affected his short-term memory, and he is also assessed as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
'I sentence you for offences you committed over 40 years ago and were convicted of over two years ago. Your personal circumstances were very different.
'You came from a loving home, and she was in care at the home where you volunteered. She was particularly vulnerable, something which you quickly identified.
'You befriended her and gained her trust and then sought to exploit that.
'It began when you were 16 or 17 and in the police cadets. She did it because she was scared and saw you as a figure of authority.
'You were not willing to admit what you had done, which caused a great deal of unpleasant memories to be dredged up, and it has had a continuing impact on her.
'I am just persuaded, as an act of mercy, that I can suspend the sentence.'
Judge Potter also slapped him with an 8pm-7am curfew for three months, and ordered him to register as a sex offender for ten years.
The court heard Lively became a wealthy businessman after leaving Warwickshire Police in 1986.
Following a 15-week (trial?) he was found guilty of two charges of indecently assaulting a girl in the late 1970s and one of gross indecency with the same girl.
He was cleared of nine further charges relating to four boys. A further 14 charges were allowed to lie on file after Lively was deemed unfit for trial.
OMG! The guy must have been a monster, and he gets a slap on the wrist! It's hard to believe a policeman doesn't know how to commit suicide properly. Police know how to play the courts, and, I suspect, that's what he has done here.
Prosecutor Rosina Cottage QC told the court Lively abused the girl, who was between 10 and 12, while he volunteered at a children's home.
Stephen Vullo QC, defending, said: 'He is in a wheelchair, and will be for life, and has a brain injury which he will have for life. He has to a large extent suffered very significant punishment already.'
Forgive me, but I'm not convinced!
UK child abuse pandemic record revealed by charity
22 Nov, 2021 12:37
The number of calls concerning child sexual abuse or exploitation reached a record level during the pandemic, a UK charity has reported.
“This reached a record high of 4,735 reports, a 36% increase in the first six months of 2021/22 when compared to the same six months of the previous year,” the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) said in a statement.
The NSPCC specified that 40% of 3,560 messages on abuse where the time frame was known were reported to have happened in the last six months, while 60% of them referred to earlier dates. According to the Press Association news agency, which was provided with additional data, more than 1,500 messages received by the NSPCC were referred to authorities for further investigation.
According to NSPCC helpline head Kam Thandi, the organization is concerned that “the risk of abuse has gone up since the start of the pandemic” with children more vulnerable and out of sight of adults who can protect them.
The Everyone’s Invited website, launched in April by the NSPCC and the Department for Education as a helpline for those facing abuse and harassment in educational settings, has become an opportunity for many to raise their concerns, Thandi claimed. The helpline will be extended until the end of this year, the Department for Education confirmed.
Other charities and child abuse victims reacted to the NSPCC’s report by expressing support for those who contacted the charity.
“We are proud of the brave children who now feel able to speak up – but horrified that the epidemic of abuse continues,” Solace Women’s Aid said on Twitter.
“This is good news that historic child abuse victims feel able to speak out and finally have a voice,” Sarah Mo, childhood sexual abuse victims’ rights activist, claimed.
Tories invited paedophile to boat party with underage guests
after he was sentenced
Tanveer Mann
Monday 19 Nov 2018 8:43 am
Metro
A paedophile was spotted at a boat party with underage guests after he was invited by a think tank supported by several high profile Conservative MPs.
Richard Neate, 28, of Gunning Way, was convicted of possessing child porn after being found with indecent images of children as young as six years old and a video of a man having sex with a dog.
He had previously told police in 2017 he had been ‘running a business selling adult porn to other adults’ but this had spiralled into him viewing the indecent material.
The Adam Smith Institute, who invited him to the annual The Next Generation party, claimed they were unaware they had invited a paedophile and initially said the party was only for over 18s but then admitted some 16-year-olds were aboard.
The think tank is favoured by several well-known Conservative politicians including Jacob Rees-Mogg.
One guest at the boat party said the paedophile’s appearance came after a friend was banned from attending the same party for criticising the group publicly.
She said: ‘It’s 2018, and a think-tank lets men get away with being literally sex offenders, but not women who express dissatisfaction. There were under 18s on the boat.’
Other guests who attended the invite-only party on July 3 complained to officials that Neate had been allowed onboard. But bosses allegedly remained silent and did not listen to their complaints.
Another guest said: ‘Many guests, some who were underage, wanted something to be done then the ASI did nothing and ignored it’.
The event was the annual celebration for their The Next Generation group, an important social event for young conservatives.
Neate avoided jail in October 2017 with a three-year community order and 150 hours of unpaid work and was put on the sex offenders’ register for five years (Picture: PA)
On its website the institute brands itself a ‘network for classical liberals and libertarians under the age of 30.’ It meets in Westminster ‘most months of the year.’
Neate avoided jail in October 2017 with a three-year community order and 150 hours of unpaid work. He was put on the sex offenders’ register for five years after more than 200 videos and images were found on his computers.
He was originally caught after police investigated a series of tweets he had sent. After searching his hard drives they found the horrific abuse images.
There were 129 of the worst category A ‘moving’ images discovered by police, as well as 76 category B and eight category C pictures.
Neate admitted performing sex acts while watching the material and said he was sexually interested in children about 15 years old.
Judge David Farrell QC told Neate ‘You won’t be getting a second chance’ after letting him stay in the community under close watch.
He appeared at the ASI party less than a year into his punishment.
Recent guests at the ASI party have included former MPs Liz Truss, Douglas Carswell and former Brexit minister David Davis, though they weren’t in attendance at the boat party.
Matt Kilcoyne, head of communications at the Adam Smith Institute, said: ‘The Next Generation series of events is for those between the ages of 18 and 30 interested in the ideas of classical liberalism.
‘The safety of attendees at our events is of the utmost importance. Our boat party, held annually, was conducted with a company that operates a strict policy of photo ID for those under the age of 21.
‘Thank you for bringing to our attention that someone under the age of licence could have attended.
‘Over 300 invitations were sent out from an bulk email list. Unfortunately due to plus ones being invited by guests it might have been possible someone boarded the boat that should not have done so.
‘Mr Neate was invited automatically as the invitation list was copied over from a previous year.
‘We’ve made it clear to Mr Neate that he is not able to attend future events.’
Tasmania pays out record $1.4 million to survivor of child abuse
from teacher Anthony LeClerc
By Loretta Lohberger
Posted 19 hours ago
ABC Australia
The Tasmanian government has settled a group of six historical child sexual abuse cases, with one of the survivors receiving what is thought to be the state's largest child abuse settlement to date.
Angela Sdrinis, director of Angela Sdrinis Legal, represented the six survivors of abuse by former priest and Tasmanian public school teacher Anthony LeClerc.
"The claims were brought against the Tasmanian government in relation to the abuse experienced by our clients, and those matters settled for a total sum of $5.32 million, and the settlements ranged from $620,000 to $1.4 million," Ms Sdrinis said.
These are very generous sums of money. This will be a problem when most of the survivors come out of the woods.
"To our knowledge, the $1.4 million settlement is the highest to date in Tasmania for a historical child abuse claim."
The six people were abused by LeClerc in the early 1980s. Ms Sdrinis said it had been a long road for them. "Not only the trauma arising from the abuse itself — and they were abused some 40 years ago — many of them had been to the police over the journey," she said.
LeClerc was jailed in 2015 for molesting 14 children between 1973 and 1983.
He was transferred between four schools in Tasmania's north-west when complaints were made about him.
A recent inquiry found the Tasmanian Education Department spent decades shielding child sexual abusers and protecting itself from reputational risk.
Case couldn't proceed until time limit abolished
Ms Sdrinis said the first clients contacted her firm while LeClerc's criminal case was before the Supreme Court in Hobart, but they had to wait until 2018 when the time limit for taking civil claims for sexual abuse to court was abolished.
"For at least the last six years following the criminal trial and the commencement of their civil litigation, it's been a really difficult time … a number of them just broke down in tears and that was obviously both distressing for us, but also rewarding to understand that those tears were actually tears of relief and coming to the end of a journey," Ms Sdrinis said.
"Each of our clients had a very different journey and very different outcomes in life, with varying degrees of success, but they were all incredibly impacted in one way or another … anything from substance abuse disorders — some of which gives rise to criminal offending — loneliness, relationship breakdown, unemployment, psychiatric treatment, poverty — we're really talking about very, very significant impacts."
Ms Sdrinis said she hoped each of them would make submissions to the commission of inquiry into child sexual abuse in Tasmania government institutions.
"We've certainly done that on their behalf, but I think there's a feeling that they've come to the end of the road, and hopefully Tasmania will be a better place because of that than it's been in the past," she said.
New abuse inquiry may surface more people needing help
Beyond Abuse chief executive Steve Fisher said his organisation was preparing for a "big influx" of people coming forward seeking support over the next 12-18 months and beyond.
"I don't believe that we've even scratched the surface yet with the commission of inquiry to really start up," he said. "I believe that we haven't really seen in any way, shape or form the amount of people that are going to need help."
He said the media coverage of child sexual abuse was difficult for many and encouraged survivors of abuse to seek support.
Mr Fisher said he was pleased for the six survivors who received compensation following Supreme Court mediation sessions last week.
"Good on the Tasmanian government for actually taking responsibility and not putting them through a trial," he said. "It's basically the start of a lot of claims we'll see settled over the next few years."
Ms Sdrinis said they may have received more if their matters had gone before a judge, but she understood why they wanted to settle out of court. "There are always uncertainties and of course for trauma survivors, the thought of court can be quite daunting," she said.
"The Tasmanian government, in my view, certainly made offers within a range that a judge might have awarded, and, on that basis, all of the clients were keen to settle."
