Suspended sentence for indecent assault forty years ago 

By Fiona Ferguson 

A man who repeatedly indecently assaulted a child almost 40 years ago when he was a young teenager has avoided a jail term. 

Michael Nolan (54) of Ballyogan Vale, Carrickmines, pleaded guilty to indecent assault of the young girl on dates between November 1984 and September 1985.

He has no other convictions. 

Nolan was aged 14 to 15 years old at the time, while his victim was four to five years old. 

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that the parents of Nolan and the injured party had met when the offences came to light.

The teenage Nolan admitted his actions, and it was decided that both children should attend therapy in the aftermath.

The matter did not go to gardai at that time. 

In her victim impact statement, the woman said the abuse she suffered at the hands of Nolan had broken her foundations and messed up her internal wiring, impacting her life and her family. 

She said she was left feeling dirty and ashamed. “I lost my childhood,” she told the court. 

She outlined numerous ongoing medical, emotional and psychological impacts, such as muscular-skeletal issues due to being constantly tense, PTSD, anxiety, burnout, nightmares and panic attacks. 

She said her driving force in reporting the offending was to stop it from happening to more people.

She said reporting was not easy in this country, and if she had known the time and anguish of the process, she might have given up.

She said that if it helps stop another child being abused, it is worth it. 

Passing sentence last Friday, Judge Pauline Codd noted the serious effect the offending has had on the life of the injured party.

She said the plight of the child had not been ignored or disbelieved by her parents, who took the action they deemed appropriate at the time. 

Judge Codd said despite many interventions, the woman is still dealing with the detrimental effects of the abuse on her life, with her core sense of security and self-worth undermined. 

She told the woman that the stigma and shame were no longer hers to own but belonged at the feet of Nolan, who now stands convicted of sex offences. 

She said the court was struck by the courage and tenacity of the woman in seeking to unshackle herself from the effects of the abuse and wished her well into the future. 

The judge said Nolan had faced up to what he did when the offences first came to light when he was 15 years old and again years later, with a guilty plea and letter of apology. 

She said he attended counselling as a teenager and has led a prosocial life in the 39 years since then.

She noted his shame and remorse for his actions. 

She said that, in the meantime, he has married, raised children, and has no criminal convictions. 

The judge noted that the maximum sentence applicable to the offence at the time it was committed was ten years imprisonment. 

She said she was obliged to sentence Nolan according to the sentencing regime of the time but noted the penalties and legislation in relation to sexual offences on children and sentencing of child offenders have changed in the intervening years. 

Judge Codd noted factors involved in sentencing and said it was a balancing exercise which throws up complexities, such as the effect of the lapse of time on the sentencing process. 

She noted that the reason for the delay was that the injured party did not feel strong enough to come forward earlier. 

She noted the woman had borne the impact of the abuse over many decades, and it is understandable that she feels a profound sense of injustice that Nolan has moved on while it still blights her life. 

Judge Codd said the teenage boy who committed the offences was different to the man now before the court. She said he had attended counselling, not reoffended and accepted what he did. 

She said since 1985, there has been a sea change in the prevailing culture as regards sexual abuse. 

She said there is now a sentencing regime for juveniles, which was not in place in 1985, with custody as a last resort for minors, and there was also no “sex offenders register” at that time. 

The judge noted that had a complaint been made at the time, he would have been treated as a minor with evidence of rehabilitation and not as a 54-year-old man. 

She said as no notes from his psychiatric treatment almost 40 years ago are available, the court is left with his age as the only barometer to assess his maturity at the time and cannot fully assess the psychological forces underpinning his behaviour at the time. 

She said the aggravating factors included the young age of the victim, that he was relatively older, and she was taking into account the traumatic effects of the abuse on the injured party. 

She noted the duration and repeated nature of the conduct, which only stopped when the complainant told her mother.

She said the manipulation and psychological pressure the accused placed on the girl was “nasty and cynical conduct.” 

She said that had Nolan been an adult, an eight-year headline sentence would have been appropriate; however, allowing for his youth and immaturity, she had set a four-year headline sentence. 

Judge Codd noted in mitigation that immaturity has a considerable bearing on moral culpability. 

She also noted his guilty plea, remorse and apology and his concrete expression of remorse in €6,500 he had brought to court to offset some of the woman’s counselling costs. 

She said she had to have regard to how he has addressed his conduct and his self-rehabilitation and that he has not reoffended.

She said if he had been prosecuted at the time, it would be unlikely that he would have been incarcerated, 

Judge Codd imposed three years of imprisonment to mark the seriousness of the offence but taking into account his rehabilitation; she suspended the entire sentence for three years. 

She said if this offence was committed as an adult, or there had been no rehabilitation or other offending, he would have received a custodial term. 

She said that in light of the actions taken at the time, his level of maturity and his full rehabilitation over 40 years, it would be unjust in all the circumstances to impose a custodial sentence. 

She placed Nolan on the “sex offenders register” for a period of two years. 

A prosecuting garda told Rebecca Smith BL, prosecuting, that the families were known to each other at the time, and the offences happened while Nolan was in the company of the injured party. 

The offending involved digital penetration of the victim’s vagina and making her touch his penis. 

The court heard the young girl was in fear of Nolan, and while he did not threaten her, there was psychological pressure put on her. 

The offences occurred over nine months until the mother noticed a change in her daughter’s behaviour, and she was referred to a specialist.

When the girl’s parents discovered what was happening, they met with Nolan’s parents.

He was 15 years old. 

Nolan described how he was beaten by his father after he was confronted with what he had done. 

The girl attended for specialised therapy, and Nolan attended counselling with a psychiatrist. 

Giollaíosa Ó Lideadha SC, defending, handed in a letter to the court in which Nolan “sincerely apologises.”

A letter from Nolan’s mother refers to his youth and immaturity at the time.

Further testimonials were also handed into court. 

He said Nolan was now a caring father and grandfather.

He asked the court to consider his guilty pleas and the fact the case was now before the court when the world had changed. 

He submitted there were no other convictions, allegations or garda attention.