A 63-year-old Kerry sports coach has been sentenced to 14 years in prison after being convicted of raping and sexually assaulting two teenage girls who were around 40 years younger than him.
The man, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was convicted earlier this year following a trial at the Central Criminal Court in Cork.
The court heard he used his position as a coach to manipulate, threaten and abuse the girls, who were aged between 15 and 17 at the time of the offences in 2020 and 2021.
During the trial, evidence was heard that an investigating detective warned the coach to stay away from one of the complainants. In response, he asked: “What happens when she is 18?” Prosecuting senior counsel Anne Rowland told jurors that it “took some gall” for him to ask such a question.
The court heard the man threatened to remove both girls from his sports programme if they disclosed the abuse. Detective Garda Raleen Bell gave evidence of text messages sent by the coach, including: “I hope you are not out to hang me. Keep your mouth shut and we will be fine.” Another message stated: “I could kidnap you.”
Detective Garda Darragh McGuire told the court the man began coaching one of the victims when she was just 12 years old. The relationship became abusive, with the coach allegedly slapping her if he felt she was not performing well enough in her sport.
The court heard he once brought the girl to a remote field and told her: “I could do anything to you out here, I could rape you, I could kill you.” He later began making sexual advances towards her before forcing her to perform sexual acts on him during her mid-teens.
Jurors heard that some of the abuse took place while the man was driving, while another incident occurred in a church car park. The victim was raped for the first time in the summer of 2021 and was subjected to further rapes during overnight sporting events around the country.
Although separate rooms were often booked, the coach would force the teenager to stay in his room, where he raped her repeatedly. The abuse eventually came to light after the man's now ex-wife contacted the girl's mother with concerns about inappropriate behaviour, leading to a Garda investigation.
The second victim told the court the abuse began with unwanted touching over her clothing. Concerns were raised when the coach booked a single room for himself and the girl during a sports event. When questioned by her mother, he replied: “I was hardly going to rape her.”
The jury convicted the man of three counts of rape, nine counts of oral and digital rape and 10 counts of sexual assault involving the first victim. He was also convicted of nine counts of sexual assault involving the second victim.
In a victim impact statement, the first woman said the coach had “hunted” her.
“You took away my innocence, something that can never be replaced, you broke the soul of a child,” she said. “You normalised this behaviour – you used your position as my coach/mentor/teacher to manipulate and force me to things no teenager should ever have to do. You left me alone and afraid. You threatened me, making me fear you to ensure my silence on what was happening.”
The second victim said the coach had filled her with dreams of sporting success before using her ambition to manipulate and control her.
“One of the hardest things I carry is the guilt I felt when I learned that there were others after me,” she said. “I remember thinking over and over again that if I had spoken sooner, maybe they would have been spared the fear, the manipulation and the damage that you inflicted.”
Sentencing the man, Ms Justice Lankford said he had shown no remorse and continued to reject the jury's verdict. She described the significant age gap between the coach and his victims as an aggravating factor, along with his efforts to isolate the girls from their parents.
The judge imposed a sentence of 10.5 years in relation to the first victim and 3.5 years in relation to the second victim, with both sentences to run concurrently, resulting in a total prison term of 14 years.
