Eighty-year-old Mayo man jailed for sexual assault on teenage boy

“I have nightmares about it still,” victim tells court

An 80-year-old man who sexually assaulted a teenage boy has been jailed.

The victim gave consent for his attacker, James (Jimmy) Nolan, of Derryronane, Swinford, to be named while retaining his own anonymity.

Nolan was sentenced after pleading guilty at a sitting of Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court to one count of sexual assault.

An earlier application to change his plea to not guilty was dismissed by Judge Eoin Garavan.

The court heard the injured party, who is a vulnerable young person, was in his teens when he was sexually assaulted on three dates in October 2018.

The investigating garda said the boy was carrying out farm work when the sexual assaults took place.

The man would instruct the boy to change into farm clothes in a caravan on the farm. When the teenager undressed, the defendant would direct him to lie down, and the man would then touch his penis.

This happened on three dates and would occur before the boy started work and again when he changed his clothes at the end of the day.

The teenager disclosed what happened to his mother. He told his mother the man had “pulled his wire” and his penis was sore as a result. His mother gave him cream for the pain and reported the matter to gardaí in October 2018.

When interviewed by gardaí, the defendant claimed he had terminated the teenager’s employment and the boy started crying.

This was contradicted by text messages on the victim’s phone.

He told officers that the allegations were “100% lies” and it was a “put together job."

Nolan has two previous convictions for unrelated offences.

A victim impact statement from the injured party, who is now aged in his twenties, was read into court.

He said the offending went on for a few weeks, and he was “afraid to tell anyone."

“I couldn’t sleep at night. I felt like I was lost. Everyday I felt sick and angry. I was angry at him, but I was angry at myself too for letting it happen.

"Still today I can’t trust anyone. Anyone who gets close to me, I push them away,” said the young man.

He said he can’t be in big crowds and panics if he is in a queue. The man said the assaults made him stop him eating.

“I have nightmares about it still. When I am around people I get anxiety. I flinch if somebody moves their hand,” he stated.

The male said he had suicidal thoughts following his ordeal.

“I had thoughts about ending my life over what Jimmy did to me. I don’t want to go to the court. I don’t want to be in the same room as Jimmy,” he said.

The young man said he never felt safe outside of his home and it is only after Nolan entered a guilty plea that he has started to feel safe again.

“I am no longer a hostage,” he commented.

He said the assault continues to “do my head in all the time”.

“I hope I get over it. I never want to see Jimmy again,” he added.

Senior counsel, Colm Smyth, representing Nolan, said he was unable to offer signs of remorse in mitigation as his client does not have any.

He said Nolan “simply refused to accept that he did anything."

“He continues to maintain his innocence,” said the barrister.

Mr. Smyth said Nolan has a serious medical history and lives alone in a caravan.

“Clearly this is a troubling case,” remarked Judge Garavan.

He said Nolan’s crimes were a “complete breach of trust” and were perpetrated against a “very vulnerable young man."

The judge said Nolan abused his position of authority and “took advantage” of his victim.

Judge Garavan said the 80-year old “presented as a kindly, helpful man, but turned out to be an abuser."

He noted Nolan’s lack of empathy and remorse and his “hostile attitude to people".

Judge Garavan said he was conscious of Nolan’s advanced age and medical history.

He imposed a five-year prison sentence, suspending the final year of that term.

* Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme.