Woman jailed for ‘heinous’ abuse of two young boys

Woman jailed for ‘heinous’ abuse of two young boys

A 68-year-old woman has been jailed for two-and-a-half years for the “heinous” sexual abuse of two young boys 30 years ago.

Josephine McMahon, from Railway Road, Kenmare in Co Kerry, had pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to two sample counts of sexually assaulting two brothers on dates between 1992 and 1996.

The boys were aged between four and five and between eight and 12 respectively at the time of the abuse.

Ms Justice Karen O’Connor said the maximum sentence for the offence at the time is five years and she had to take mitigating factors into account.

McMahon came to the Central Criminal Court to be sentenced. She is now in a wheelchair and has a number of serious medical difficulties.

The court had heard that she abused one of the boys, who was aged four or five at the time, when she was supposed to be minding him.

He was picking rhubarb in the garden when McMahon fell over. The child laughed so she took him to the bathroom, inserted a wooden spoon in him and told him, “you won’t laugh at me again”.

She also sexually abused the boy on other occasions and also his older brother, including touching him inappropriately and exposing herself.

One of the boys spoke in a victim impact statement of his “crippling depression and anxiety”.

“I know I should feel grateful you pleaded guilty for sexually abusing me,” he said. “But I am left with so many unanswered questions. Why me?”

Ms Justice O’Connor described the abuse as “heinous” and paid tribute to the victims, saying they had demonstrated “extraordinary courage and dignity”.

The maximum sentence for the offence at the time is five years and the judge said she must take into account mitigating factors, including the fact that McMahon’s health has significantly deteriorated and she will require dialysis in the coming months.

She sentenced McMahon to three-and-a-half years and suspended the final 12 months.