Man jailed for sexual assaults at Lough Derg pilgrimage site

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2 days ago

A worker at the Lough Derg pilgrimage site who duped unsuspecting women and teenagers into helping him at the retreat so he could sexually assault them has been jailed for a total of four years.
Tomas Gallagher (42) preyed on female victims by asking them to help him repair washing machines and tumble dryers during a series of terrifying incidents at the renowned religious setting.
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Details of the plans hatched by Gallagher were outlined before Letterkenny Circuit Court last week.
Gallagher had pleaded to seven charges in all, four for sexual assaults of adults, two for sexual assault on children and one charge of invitation to a child to sexually touch.
On Wednesday, having considered reports on Gallagher as well as the statements from his victims, Judge John Aylmer jailed the father-of-one for five years with the last 12 months suspended.
He said the crimes, as outlined in the case, were "egregious acts of violence in a sacred place of pilgrimage."
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He told Gallagher that his crimes were "deceitful" and "premeditated" and that he placed them in the mid-range for such offences and which merited a sentence of seven years before mitigation.
In mitigation, he noted an early plea, the fact that the accused had no previous convictions, and that he appeared to be remorseful and ashamed of his actions.
Judge Aylmer also noted that Gallagher had undertaken 24 counselling sessions, that he was fully cooperative and that he had been ostracised in the local community.
Taking the totality factor into account and that all sentences will run concurrently, Judge Aylmer said he was reducing the overall sentence to one of five years.
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He then added that with regard to all efforts to encourage rehabilitation and the fact that it needs to be encouraged, he suspended the final twelve months of that sentence, meaning Gallagher will serve four years in prison.
He is also to go under the supervision of the Probation Services for 12 months.
Gallagher, from Rathanlacky, Dunkineely, Co Donegal, pleaded to a total of seven charges against five different women at the holy island on the shores of Lough Derg.
He pleaded to six charges of sexual assault at St Patrick's Purgatory.
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These offences are contrary to Section 2 of the Criminal Law (Rape) (Amendment) Act 1990, as amended by Section 37 of the Sex Offenders Act 2001.
He also pleaded that in the same period and location, he did attempt, by inviting, inducing, counselling or inciting a child to sexual touching. This offence is contrary to Section 4 Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act, 2017.
The victims, who cannot be named to protect their identity, ranged in age from their early teens to more mature women in their later years.
All of the offences took place in 2022 when Gallagher worked both as a maintenance man at the retreat, as well as driving a boat taking pilgrims to and from the island.
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Barrister for the State, Fiona Crawford BL and investigating Garda Joanna Doherty outlined the details of the incidents.
Statements given to gardaí by the victims told how Gallagher had approached them, asking them to come into a laundry room as he needed help fixing various machines.
The statements outlined how the unsuspecting women were asked to reach behind them into the machines while Gallagher fixed a "pipe."
The women thought they were holding a pipe but instead they were gripping the accused man's penis.
On one occasion, Gallagher told one of his victims to twist the pipe like she was 'revving a motorcycle.'
Gallagher told another victim that the "pipe" would be soft and moist.
An older victim was approached by Gallagher who asked her to reach behind a dishwasher and hold a pipe but she 'knew immediately it was no pipe' as it was warm and soft and felt like a penis.
The woman couldn't see it, but the shocked woman jumped back and shouted, 'What the f*** is that?'
The woman didn't tell anybody else about the incident that day but felt upset and did later tell her daughter about what had happened.
On another occasion, Gallagher asked a young teenage girl to help him with a washing machine and asked her to hold a "pipe".
She grabbed the "pipe" and he told her to 'hold it there' as he chatted to her about school.
However, the girl told how the pipe didn't feel like plastic but was warm and had a rubbery texture and that it felt sticky or sweaty.
Another teenager told in her statement how Gallagher asked him to assist her with a tumble dryer and told her to put her hand behind a wooden board and he got her to hold something.
He told the girl to hold the "pipe" harder and then to loosen it and then to increase her grip before he said 'yeah, that's fine.'
The young woman then said the pipe was "squishy, wet and warm" and when she stood up she saw Gallagher's penis sticking out from the zipper of his trousers.
One young woman eventually came forward and told a person in charge what had happened, which led to others coming forward and making complaints of a similar nature against Gallagher.
Gallagher was interviewed by gardaí on three occasions and initially denied anything untoward had happened.
During one interview with Detective Garda Paul McHugh, Gallagher admitted asking one woman to hold a pipe on a tumble dryer as it had been leaking.
He claimed the woman had got up and left for no apparent reason and he had been left nervous and embarrassed by the incident.
However, he later admitted the offences and entered a guilty plea.
Victim impact statements from the women were read out in court while two young women chose to read out their own statements.
One young woman fought back tears as she told how, despite being the victim, she felt ashamed and disgusted by what had happened and often thinks about if she could have stopped this from happening to other women.
She added that she often thinks about Gallagher's son and that she prays that he is safe.
An older victim said she feels vulnerable and intimidated by what had happened and that she is sorry that she did not speak up sooner but was afraid that people would laugh at her or not believe her.
Another victim told how she was a student but failed her exams because she became depressed after Gallagher's assault on her.
However, she later completed her exams and was proud of herself and was determined not to allow her attacker to ruin her life further, but still feels he stole something from her.
A teenage victim said she has been forced to attend counselling because of anxiety and that she is now always on edge and simply cannot trust men.
She decided not to come to court as she feared that seeing Gallagher again would trigger her anxiety.
Another woman, who now lives abroad and gave her evidence by videolink, told how she lives in an apartment with a lift and if a man gets into the lift she can't stop thinking 'what if?'
She said she realises that she should not tar all men with the same brush but Gallagher's attack had made her an angrier, wearier and a meaner person as a result.
She added that she does feel disgusted by what had happened, but sometimes feels glad that he had chosen her and that she had alerted the authorities to what was happening, as she hated to think what number of victims there might have been.
Gallagher took to the witness stand and said he wanted to apologise to his victims.
He said he 'truly regretted' his actions and was sorry for the hurt and pain he had caused his victims and their families.
Asked by his barrister, Mr Colm Smyth, SC, if he realised this was a huge breach of trust, Gallagher replied that he did.
He also revealed that he had engaged in 24 counselling sessions to better understand the impact his actions have had on others.
Mr Smyth said his client accepted full responsibility for his actions, that he had now lost his employment and had become a pariah in the local community because of the publicity surrounding the case.
He added the fact that the offences took place in a sacred place, a place of pilgrimage for Christian people going back many centuries, also had to be acknowledged.
Mr Smyth suggested to Judge John Aylmer that there also has to be 'light at the end of the tunnel' for Gallagher, asking him to consider his client's remorse, his blameless life up until now and his guilty plea.
The Prior of Lough Derg, Monsignor La Flynn, apologised on behalf of the pilgrimage following the jailing of Gallagher.
Monsignor Flynn said he wished to express his deep sorrow that such abuse took place against members of staff there, including a minor.
He said that he wished to apologise to those victims unreservedly for the hurt they have suffered and assure them of the retreat's support at this time.
He said that during 2022, both himself and the then operations manager at Lough Derg were made aware of allegations of sexual assault by a staff member at that time.
In accordance with their safeguarding policies and procedures, the allegations were immediately reported to An Garda Síochána for investigation, he said.
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"The member of staff was suspended pending the outcome of the investigation. He since voluntarily resigned his employment."
The Diocese of Clogher, of which Lough Derg is a constituent part, and the Management of Lough Derg, are fully committed to adhering to the highest standards, practices, policies and procedures for safeguarding and, also, to cooperating with the statutory authorities in all such cases, he added.
"If anyone else has a concern or complaint, either now or from the past, I encourage them to come forward and contact both the diocese and the statutory authorities via the following numbers," he said.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help
.