Donegal man who sexually assaulted young girl while crossdressing jailed for four years

A 65-year-old man from Rossgier, Lifford was sentenced to five years in prison with the final 12 months suspended after admitting two counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual exploitation of a child. The offences occurred in County Donegal between September 1, 2015 and June 30, 2017, when the victim was aged nine to ten and the accused was in his 50s. The court heard the incidents involved a highly sexualised nature and included threats that the victim would be jailed if she told anyone. The judge found the conduct to be a gross breach of trust because the accused minded the child after school as a step grandfather. The abuse came to light in 2020 after the victim messaged her mother.

"Judge John Aylmer said Quinn was before the court on charges relating to the same child over a period of one year and nine months when she was a prepubescent child aged nine and ten. Judge Aylmer said Quinn was in a position of trust while he minded her after school, adding it was an aggravating factor that the offending persisted over a period of time. He said, "This was a gross breach of trust in your role as a step grandfather.""

"Judge Aylmer said the incidents were in a highly sexualised nature while Quinn told the young girl she would be jailed if she told anyone about what was happening. Judge Aylmer sentenced Quinn to five years in prison with the final 12 months suspended."

"A Donegal man who sexually assaulted a young girl while crossdressing has been jailed for four years. William 'Bill' Quinn (65) of Rossgier, Lifford appeared at Letterkenny Circuit Court before Judge John Aylmer for sentencing after admitting to sample charges of two counts of sexual assault and another of sexual exploitation. The sexual assault charges is contrary to Section 2 of the Criminal Law (Rape) (Amendment) Act, 1990."

"The abuse came to light in 2020 when the victim messaged her mother. She said did not know how to tell her mother what had been happening and she did not want to get the accused in trouble. Contact was then made with gardaí and she was interviewed in July 2020."

Read at Irish Independent