A Dublin man who indecently assaulted a young girl on two occasions had his total sentence of four years jail halved yesterday with the effect that, with remission, he will be released next year.
Gerard McGeehan (47) formerly of Clanmaurice Road, Donnycarney had been jailed last February for two years on one count of indecent assault and to a further two years on a second count, with both sentences to run consecutively.
However, the Court of Criminal Appeal yesterday reduced one of the two-year sentences to one year. While it found the second two-year sentence should stand, it ruled both sentences should run concurrently instead of consecutively. The effect of its decisions is that McGeehan will be freed next year.
The McGeehan family hugged each other in court after the three judge court gave its decision.
McGeehan was found guilty in the Circuit Criminal Court last February of two charges of indecently assaulting the girl in 1975 and 1982 when she was aged six and 12 years of age. The victim had requested that the media name McGeehan.
The court heard that the first indecent assault took place in 1975 when McGeehan was 17 years of age and the victim was six years. She was sleeping in the same house as McGeehan and woke up crying and he went into her room naked.
In 1982, the victim was in sixth class and was given a lift home from school in a truck by McGeehan. He stopped in a lay by and produced a pornographic magazine and again abused the girl who was then 12 years of age.
Yesterday, Mr Justice Brian McCracken presiding said at the time of the first offence in 1975, the maximum sentence was two years. He said it was a very serious interference with a young girl but it could not have attracted the maximum sentence and the court reduced it to one year.
The judge said the second offence had some aspect of planning but the court could not find fault with the sentence of two years.