CORK (IRELAND)
Evening Echo
March 17, 2018
By Liam Heylin
A West Cork priest sexually assaulted a little girl throughout her First Confession, and yesterday the 79-year-old got a suspended jail term.
Judge Sean Ó Donnabháin noted that the accused had served two previous jail sentences for similar crimes at this time and said that there was no point in re-committing him to jail at this point in his life.
John Calnan who is now living at The Presbytery, Roman Street, Cork, pleaded guilty to carrying out the indecent assault on the communion girl in the late 1980s.
The victim said yesterday at Cork Circuit Criminal Court: “I did inform my teacher and parents about the incident at the time but I am not sure they believed me. On the day of the abuse, I knew before ever entering the room for this man to hear my confession that something bad was going to happen. I went through my life never feeling believed.”
On the day she was wearing a little badge. The priest told her to come close to him so that he could see the badge and he then put his hand up her pinafore and put his fingers in her vagina.
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