Gardaí hunt for man linked to sex beast McDonnell
GARDAÍ are searching for a man who was arrested as part of the same investigation as Jimmy McDonnell, who was this week sentenced to 12 years in prison for abusing and filming young boys.
The man was arrested and questioned by gardaí and a file was sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions, however he has since fled Longford and is believed to be in hiding in England.
Jimmy McDonnell – a former Sinn Féin councillor, soldier and GAA caretaker – was this week given a 12-year jail sentence, with the final four years suspended for sexually abusing four boys between the ages of four and 15.
Following his conviction, Judge Keenan Johnson said he could be named in the media, but the anonymity of his victims must be maintained. The 63-year-old videotaped the horrific abuse, which is believed to be in the most serious category, according to a detective in the Garda Cyber Crime Unit.
Gardaí found 128 movie files on McDonnell’s computer when they searched his home in Annaly Park in Longford.
McDonnell used his role as a GAA caretaker to groom the four boys, building a level of trust with them before abusing them. A seven-yearold boy was abused for eight years by McDonnell, sometimes on a daily basis, with the judge describing the abuse as ‘habitual’.
McDonnell was charged with 45 sample counts of sexually assaulting children, production, possession and distribution of child pornography and the sexual exploitation of minors between 2000 and 2008.
Imposing sentencing, Judge Johnson described McDonnell as ‘deviant’, saying: ‘The accused still doesn’t have any empathy for his victims but each of them deserve enormous credit for going to the gardaí. Mr McDonnell led them to believe that he was someone they could trust; he groomed them and breached that trust.’
McDonnell, who pleaded guilty to the offences, has been placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register.