A BALLYSHANNON man found guilty on 32 counts of child sex abuse has been jailed.
Brian McMahon, who had been living recently in Sligo, abused his victim between 1966 and 1974.
McMahon, now 63, was 16 when he first attacked his victim who was just ten at the time. He was found guilty on 31 counts against the boy.
McMahon was also found guilty by a jury of one charge of indecently assaulting the boy’s younger brother, between September 1973 and September 1974, also in Ballyshannon. The victim was aged 13 at the time.
The victims asked for McMahon to be named in court.
Garda Gerard Mullane told the court that some of the abuse took place in a cow shed or in fields. McMahon, he said, was a recluse.
One victim said at the time he “didn’t have the vocabulary” to describe what was inflicted on him. In an effort to cope throughout his life, he immersed himself in his work and worked hours “far in excess” of the working week.
“I have no self-confidence,” he said, adding that he has difficulty trusting and confiding in others.
He has endured nightmares since the trial. “I have lost my childhood forever,” he said.
His younger brother, in his victim impact statement, said he has endured an “emotional, painful path” due to the “violence, intimidation, terror and completely irrational behaviour” of McMahon.
McMahon was jailed for two years on each of the 32 offences, all the sentences to run concurrently.
He will be back on the streets next year.