Courts

Religious youth leader jailed for defilement and sexual exploitation of girl

Sophia Doyle (19) says law graduate Mark McMorrow (27) took advantage of being in a ‘position of pastoral and religious authority over me’

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard Mark McMorrow, of Woodlands Avenue, Cabinteely, Dublin, was 22 when the offending began and the victim was 16. Photograph: Matt Kavanagh
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard Mark McMorrow, of Woodlands Avenue, Cabinteely, Dublin, was 22 when the offending began and the victim was 16. Photograph: Matt Kavanagh
Niamh O’Donoghue
Thu May 16 2024 - 20:32

A religious youth leader has been jailed for the defilement and sexual exploitation of a 16-year-old girl.

Law graduate Mark McMorrow (27) pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to the defilement of Sophia Doyle (19) on December 20th, 2020. He also pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation on dates between September and December 2020.

He further pleaded to communicating with a child for the purposes of exploitation on dates between April 10th, 2019, and December 20th, 2020.

Sinéad McMullan, prosecuting, told the court Ms Doyle wished to waive her right to anonymity to allow McMorrow to be named.

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The court heard McMorrow, of Woodlands Avenue, Cabinteely, was 22 when the offending began.

Det Garda Lisa McDonnell told the court that the Doyle and McMorrow families knew each other through a faith-based group called the Community of Nazareth. Her parents had joined when Ms Doyle was about seven or eight and the families became very close.

She was also part of a youth group that McMorrow became a leader in and they saw each other socially. In 2019, when she was a third year in school and struggling with her mental health, they started communicating on social media. McMorrow asked Ms Doyle to start messaging him on Discord, which the court heard was a more private type of messaging.

The victim told a priest what had happened, he then reported it to Tusla, which informed gardaí. The court heard the religious group also hired an independent professional to establish what had occurred. The girl’s mobile phone was given to gardaí and McMorrow was interviewed at Dundrum Garda station and later released without charge.

He told gardaí the relationship turned sexual after initially being friendly. He said he knew what he was doing was illegal but was at a bad time in his life. The offending ended a week before Ms Doyle’s 17th birthday.

Ms Doyle read a victim impact statement to the court in which she said McMorrow had betrayed her trust.

“Mark was in a position of power over me – not only with his age, but he was also in a position of pastoral and religious authority over me,” she said. “He knew I wasn’t able to say ‘no’ and took advantage of that. Mark was a man that I had deeply trusted – that the entire community had trusted.”

Ms Doyle said she had for years regarded McMorrow as a friend, role model and older brother figure, but that this had come crashing down.

David Staunton, defending, told the court his client achieved very highly in school and was now a law graduate. He said he was a media officer but was not currently working. He asked the court to have regard to the references handed into the court on McMorrow’s behalf.

Judge James McCourt imposed a 2½-year sentence with the final six months suspended on conditions including that he has no involvement with the Community of Nazareth, which Ms Doyle no longer attends, and that he not communicate with the victim in any way.