A 48-YEAR-old former soldier who was involved in a youth theatre group has been sentenced to nine months in jail with three months suspended after he pleaded guilty to 12 sample counts of sexually assaulting a young girl over a three-year period at his home.
David McGlone, Leeview, Ballincollig, Co Cork, also had his name placed on the register of sex offenders after he admitted sexually assaulting the girl, who was aged eight to 11 during the time, between January 1st, 1998, and December 31st, 2000.
Judge David Riordan noted McGlone’s guilty plea and his co-operation with gardaí but he said it was a serious matter and his behaviour towards a vulnerable young person was reprehensible.
Judge Riordan noted that McGlone had got to know the young girl through his involvement in a theatre group in Ballincollig and had tied her up and massaged her while naked. He was conscious of the need to include a deterrent element in his sentence.
Cork District Court had earlier heard from Det Garda Donal O’Connell how McGlone got the girl to remove all of her clothing during some visits to his house and on others he got her to remove her clothes down to her underwear while he stripped down to his.
He did not touch her private parts at any time but he rubbed oil on her body and got her to rub oil on his body, said Det Garda O’Connell, adding that some of the incidents were video-recorded by McGlone but the tapes have since been destroyed.
The solicitor for McGlone, Eddie Burke, said his client wished to apologise to his victim and knows that while she can’t forgive him at the moment, he hopes someday that she will be able to.