Former head of national sports organisation jailed for sexual assault
The sentencing hearing took place in Waterford
Former head of the Irish Athletic Boxing Association, Gerry O’Mahony has been sentenced to three years and three months in prison for sexually assaulting a young woman.
O’Mahony was convicted on one count of sexual assault on the victim, on a date between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2010.
He was found guilty by a unanimous jury verdict after a trial in Waterford Circuit Criminal Court.
O’Mahony (67), of Murphy Place, Abbeyside, Dungarvan, Co Waterford continued to deny any wrongdoing.
On Tuesday, December 3, he appeared before Judge Eugene O’Kelly for his sentencing hearing.
In attendance at the hearing were O’Mahony’s wife, daughter and several supporters.
The court heard a summary of the case from Garda Sergeant Peter Clifford, the years leading up to the assault, the night of the assault and the years afterwards.
The victim referred to O’Mahony as a ‘narcissistic predator’ who exploited her and her vulnerability.
The Court heard how the victim came to know O’Mahony when she was 14, and that she looked on him as a father figure. O’Mahony was aware that she had difficult home life and that her father had issues with alcohol.
The Court heard how O’Mahony would supply her with alcohol when she was underage and would offer her and her friends lifts home after nights out.
On one occasion, after she turned 18, he drove her to a secluded area and asked for a ‘blowjob’. She was taken aback and declined his advances, and he eventually dropped her home.
Around a month later, she called O’Mahony for a lift home after a night out. She had been drinking but not to excess, and she said : “I still had my wits about me.”
After meeting O’Mahony, he pressured her to drink. Eventually, she took several sips and felt ‘groggy’. She lost consciousness and woke up to find O’Mahony abusing her. She shouted at him to "get the f**k off me" and he replied that "it was only a bit of fun".
She later discovered that O’Mahony had taken an intimate photo of her while she was unconscious.
The woman gave a powerful victim impact statement which detailed the years of anguish and anxiety that she suffered in the aftermath of the assault.
On the witness stand, she told the court: “I have spent years running on adrenaline.” She described how the assault had distorted her life, stifling her ability to forge close relationships: “I feel like I’m observing myself from a distance. The more I panicked during this process the more detached I felt from myself. “I am fighting to stay present, fighting against memories that I can never seem to outrun.”
She also stated: “I am consumed by a deep, visceral disgust. I looked up to Gerry as a father figure, someone who would protect me. Instead, he was calculating, seeing me not as a child to nurture, but as a sexual object to exploit."
“My body remembers what my mind tries to forget," said the victim in her statement.
“It transformed every breath, every step, every moment that followed, but because silence has helped to protect the wrong person for too long,” she stated. “The shame should belong to the abuser, not the abused.”
Further in her statement, she said that she reported O’Mahony to TUSLA in 2018, only to be told that the state agency had investigated him. She went on to thank An Garda Síochána, and Garda Stephanie Walsh for their help and support.
Defence Counsel Colman Cody BL, told Judge O’Kelly that O’Mahony was a family man with high esteem in his community. Twelve character references were submitted to Judge O’Kelly, detailing O’Mahony’s character and work in helping his community.
Judge O’Kelly imposed a headline sentence of 5 years. He reduced the sentence by one year, then suspended 9 months in mitigation, namely his poor health and former high standing in his community.
