By Sonya McLean and David O’Sullivan
A former member of the Garda Reserves has been jailed for six and half years after he sexually abused and raped a young boy he had befriended.
James Anthony Kelly (57) of Suncrest, Ballycashin, Butlerstown, Co Waterford, pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to two counts of sexual assault, involving mutual masturbation, two counts of oral rape and two counts of gross indecency of a child under the age of 17 years old on dates between March 2000 and March 2003.
The victim waived anonymity, allowing Kelly to be named.
The court heard that the offences occurred while the victim was aged between 14 and 17 years old in various unknown locations in County Waterford.
Garda Fiona Garrett told John Byrne SC, prosecuting, that Kelly was involved in various youth clubs in the locality at the times of the offences.
He was in his mid thirties at the time and first encountered the victim when he was 10 years old. The boy viewed him as “something of a father figure.”
The court heard that Kelly had brought the boy and others camping in a nearby mountain range when he assaulted him for the first time. The boy was 14 and Kelly was 33.
Everyone was sleeping in one tent. The boy was facing away from Kelly when he felt something on his back.
He put his hand behind him where he felt Kelly’s erect penis. Kelly then put his penis in the boy’s mouth.
Kelly continued assaulting the boy for a number of years after this. He would take him for drives out in the countryside and then pull the car over. They would then engage in mutual masturbation and oral sex.
The court was told the boy “didn’t like doing any of this, but I used to close my eyes, blank my mind and get it over and done with.”
Kelly was interviewed by Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) on September 9, 2020, when the matter was being investigated. He accepted there had been sexual contact between the two, but denied grooming the boy and said nothing that happened between the two of them had been forced.
Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring noted that there was no victim impact statement before the court as the victim said he finds it “too upsetting to relive the abuse”.
“The fact that he still finds it too upsetting over 20 years later is a significant impact in itself,” the judge commented.
She noted that there was a 19-year age gap between Kelly and the boy and said he abused him during his “incredibly formative years” when a child is just learning about their own sexuality.
“He abused a child known to him, who trusted him and the abuse arose after a number of years during which the victim learned to be comfortable with him and saw him as a significant adult in his life,” Ms Justice Ring said.
She said Kelly had ignored the “issue of consent” which she said was never present “due to the abusive nature of the relationship from the start”.
Ms Justice Ring said the victim was right to come forward about what had happened to him as a child.
“He had an entitlement to safety and personal dignity and these rights were ruptured by his (Kelly’s) behaviour. He (the victim) was too young to understand and too young to protect himself. He is to be commended for reporting the crime,” the judge said.
The judge noted that Kelly was a regular visitor to the victim’s family home and the abuse occurred while they were camping together and when Kelly would “bring him off for spins around in his car and pull off in isolated spots”.
The victim reported the abuse to gardaí in October 2018 and told officers that the abuse happened about twice a month from the ages of 14 to 17 years old.
He told gardaí that he didn’t like it but just engaged in it to get it over with. He acknowledged that Kelly had never used force or violence.
Ms Justice Ring noted that Kelly had been a member of the Garda Reserves from 2011 until 2019 and when the report was made by the victim, GSOC took over the investigation.
Kelly told officers in a subsequent interview that the sexual abuse was not forced and denied any suggestion of grooming. He said they had a platonic relationship.
Ms Justice Ring noted from a probation report before the court that Kelly “had to deny his sexuality for many years” and acknowledged the “undoubted hurt” that would have caused him and others.
She also accepted that he had a difficult childhood, particularly in regard to his relationship with his father before she noted that he has a close relationship with his mother who is currently unwell.
Probation officers stated that Kelly “deflected responsibility” by stating that the victim had “initiated” some of the sexual encounters.
Ms Justice Ring accepted that Kelly had written a letter of apology to the victim and his family before she also acknowledged his co-operation with Probation Service.
She said it was concluded that he had “limited insight” into the impact on the victim but accepted that Kelly has expressed a willingness to engage with further treatment with the Probation Service.
In the letter of apology handed in to the court, Kelly said he wished to “personally express my deepest apology and regret” to the boy and his family.
“It was never my intention or plan for any sexual abuse to happen,” he wrote, “I realise now as an older man the severity of my actions.”
Kelly said he hopes the boy can find peace in his heart and expressed hope that one day he and his family could forgive him.
Colman Cody SC, defending, said “The simple fact is that Mr Kelly was an adult and an adult of considerably greater years.”
He said Kelly’s “perceptions and thinking were very distorted at the time” and that the picture that emerged “is perhaps of a man that is very lonely and isolated and is struggling to come to terms with his sexual orientation.”
Mr Cody said his client had a “consistent and excellent” employment history and “unambiguously and unequivocally” wants to engage with any services the court deems necessary.
He said his client “has met the case in an appropriate fashion, which obviously cannot be said for the manner in which he conducted the relationship”.
Kelly has no prior convictions.
Ms Justice Ring imposed a sentence of eight years before she suspended the final 18 months of the term on strict conditions including that Kelly engage with the Probation Service for 18 months upon his release and engage with any therapeutic intervention as recommended by the service.
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