A young Ballyshannon man, Joseph McGinty, now 27, has been jailed for 15 months for sexually assaulting his cousin, Louise McMenamin, when she was ten years old and he was 14.
McGinty had pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting Ms. McMenamin on an unknown date between June 1st and September 1st, 2012.
However, after a three-day trial at Donegal Circuit Court, a jury found McGinty guilty of the allegation.
Ms. McMenamin waived her anonymity, so her attacker could be named publicly after his sentencing.
McGinty was accused of touching the then-ten-year-old girl on her buttocks and beneath her breast area during a sleepover at her house.
The court heard that McGinty, then 14, sneaked into the girl’s room and touched her bottom beneath her nightdress and then touched her breast area.
Details of the incident were provided at the sentencing hearing by Garda (Police Officer) Catherine Henry of Ballyshannon Garda Station.
Garda Henry stated that after touching the young girl on her buttocks and under her chest, the girl woke up. McGinty, who has an address at Abberlands, Ballyshannon,
hid behind the bed, and she could hear him breathing.
She initially pretended to be asleep, but when he got up to leave, she asked him what he was doing in her room.
The girl immediately went downstairs and told her father what had happened. He then told her mother, and a complaint was later made.
The victim, who wanted to be named so that McGinty could be named, read a heart-wrenching victim impact statement about the deeply negative impact of the episode on her life.
Ms. McMenamin also told McGinty that she has now “been courageous enough to hold you accountable, seek justice, and stand up to you.”
She outlined, in detail, the night she was attacked as a child, fighting back tears in the witness box.
She explained that she has spent years in therapy with both the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and the Rape Crisis Centre (RCC), trying to remedy her anxiety and depression, but she still cannot tell herself that she is no longer in danger and safe from McGinty.
She added, “What you did to me as a helpless 10-year-old child has shaped the young woman I am now, and I hate that you have that power. I will always wonder, and never have the answers, about the person I would have been if you had not taken advantage of me at my most vulnerable.”
“It has changed the way I look at the world, the way I look at people. You knew right from wrong, and the poor decision you made that night has left me with a lifetime of fallout. I still experience crippling anxiety if I meet you in public, and although I now face up to you as an adult, it is the child in me that has suffered this pain that you caused that I am fighting for.”
“I have carried the guilt of this burden for almost 13 years. The guilt of getting into trouble, the guilt of taking our cousins and extended family away from my brothers, the guilt of knowing that my parents feel like they have failed me. The guilt of missing valuable years without grandparents, the guilt of isolating myself from family and friends that did stand by me. The guilt of still letting this, letting you, control me and so much of my life all these years later.”
“I am choosing now to no longer carry this guilt because it is not mine. You caused this; the weight of it has been suffocating and made me feel worthless; I will leave it behind.”
Ms. McMenamin said there were times when she questioned if she would be strong enough to face her abuser.
But she added that at 23 years old, she is thankful that she fought her corner, told her truth, and sought justice.
She thanked all those who stood beside her as she sought that justice and revealed that she is now graduating from university.
She concluded, “This may seem a short incident, but it has been my whole life from the night it took place. I do not deserve to feel this way anymore; I want to move on and start living my life for me, with this chapter closed.”
“I did not deserve to suffer due to your actions, to be shunned by our family for telling the truth, and miss out on so many opportunities because of fear. I will no longer carry the shame of what you put me through because I did nothing wrong.”
“It may have taken years, but I have realised that I am so much more than what you did to me. I cannot undo what you have done, and this will always be part of me, but I will not let it define me.”
“I survived what happened, and I will be a voice for other girls. I will not collapse under this trauma. I will continue to show bravery, move on, and make younger me proud of the woman I have become, despite all the obstacles in my way.”
The mother of Joseph McGinty also took to the witness stand and testified that the incident had had a massive impact on both families.
She stated that as a mother and an aunt, she recognised “the trauma that both of these children have been through.”
She added that their grandparents had passed away with this matter on their minds.
Mrs. McGinty said she empathized with the trauma that Louise had suffered but that she was asking the court for leniency for her son.
She reflected on how her son had grown from a happy boy to waking up with nightmares, being prescribed anti-depressant medication, and developing severe eczema.
However, he went through college and qualified as a civil engineer who is a popular worker within his company and has the full support of his boss.
Mrs. McGinty added that her son also respects the verdict of the jury in his case.
Barrister for the accused, Mr. Colm Smyth, SC, said this was indeed a tragic case that has had a debilitating effect on the extended families.
Mr. Smyth acknowledged the trauma the victim had suffered but argued that his client had suffered too, and asked the court to take into account that the offense was committed when he was fourteen years old.
He added that the level of maturity must come into play and he produced case law on this aspect of the case.
He said McGinty respects the verdict of the court and has the capacity to take it in that time period, but again stressed his client was at a very early stage of his development, either sexual or otherwise, at the time.
He asked the court to consider a non-custodial sentence, given the particular circumstances, adding that McGinty has already suffered considerably and has carried the burden since his conviction.
Passing sentence, Judge John Aylmer said the aggravating factors in the case were that the victim was only ten years old at the time and the “very severe impact” the offending has had on her, referencing her victim impact statement.
He referred to the consequences of the assault and how Ms. McMenamin still suffered and had to engage in counselling to cope with anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder throughout her education and has bravely struggled with all those effects.
The Judge said he had to decide what the headline sentence for McGinty should be before factoring in that he was only 14 years old at the time and said that if it was an adult who snuck into the bedroom, he would impose a sentence of three years in prison without hesitation.
He added that the law establishes the fact that the accused was 14 years old, although he added that there was no evidence as to how sophisticated a young man he was in his development.
The fact that he snuck in and sought to commit the offense when Ms. McMenamin was asleep and then hid behind the bed when she woke up indicated that he had full awareness of what he was doing, added Judge Aylmer. He said this was the only evidence he had to make a determination as to the accused’s culpability.
He stated that he was entitled to have his own experience of life and of fourteen-year-olds and add that to his assessment, and with the guidance of authorities open to him, Judge Aylmer said he deemed it appropriate to reduce the sentence by 50% to one of 18 months in prison.
He added that the few mitigating factors that exist mandate a reduction to one of 15 months in prison, a reduction of one-sixth.
He then said the question arises if some or all of the sentence could be suspended as McGinty had come before the courts with no previous convictions and having no adverse attention since the incident.
He said he had taken into account that he was a minor and allowed him a 50% reduction.
Because of the gravity of the case and there is no admission of guilt and no expression of remorse for the victim to avail of, as well as nothing before the court about rehabilitation for you, Judge Aylmer said this is not a case where the court could justify a suspended sentence.
He sentenced McGinty to 15 months in prison and placed him on the sex offender’s register for a period of five years.
Woman says she will not allow sexual assault to define her as cousin jailed for 15 months was last modified: June 8th, 2025 by
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