A convicted Dublin sex offender who was jailed for groping two teenage concert goers on a Luas tram has received a five-year sentence for acts of gross indecency with a mentally impaired male.
John Daly (58) served a partially suspended four-year sentence for sexually assaulting two teenage girls on their way to a Rihanna concert by Luas in 2011.
He received a six-year sentence from the Court of Criminal Appeal in 2000 for other sexual crimes, including indecent assault, aggravated sexual assault and rape. Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard these dated from the 1980s and 1990s and involved females.
Daly, with addresses at Cabra Park, Phibsboro and Leinster Road, Rathmines, Dublin, pleaded guilty to five acts of gross indecency with a mentally impaired person on unknown dates between 2016 and 2017.
Garda Niall Freaney said the complainant later revealed that Daly had threatened to kill him on one occasion and to burn him to death on another, if he didn’t comply with the acts.
The court heard these acts included Daly rubbing his penis over the male and performing oral sex on him.
On Thursday, Judge Melanie Greally said she had no doubt the offences had a “profound” effect on the male’s self-esteem and ability to trust others.
“This is undoubtedly an episode of his life which has considerably set him back and from which recovery will be a slow and difficulty process”, she said.
Judge Greally noted that the maximum sentence for these offences is two years imprisonment.
“In my view, limiting the court to a maximum two years does not address either the culpability of the offender or reflect the serious harm caused by his actions”.
The judge said it was in her discretion to impose consecutive sentences and that failure to do so “would not meet the justice of the case”.
She imposed five years in consecutive sentences with the final 12 months suspended for five years.
Judge Greally ordered that Daly undergo three years probation supervision, comply with all directions and complete any sex offender treatment programme if deemed appropriate.
Garda Freaney told Lisa Dempsey BL, prosecuting, that Daly was later arrested for the offences and claimed during interview that the behaviour had been consensual.
The garda agreed with Luigi Rea BL, defending, that Daly’s guilty plea was valuable to the investigation.
Mr Rea submitted to Judge Greally that his client had an intellectual disability himself. He said Daly made efforts to deal with his demons.
Judge Greally gave Daly credit for his admissions and guilty plea and accepted the “abusive” way in which he was raised could in some ways have explained his sexual misconduct.