Former Irish boxing president jailed for sexual assault of teenager
Gerry O’Mahony, whom the court was told did not accept the jury’s verdict, has been in custody since the end of his trial on October 30. File photo
The former president of the Irish Amateur Boing Association (IABA) Gerry O’Mahony has been sentenced to four years in prison for sexual assault with the final nine months suspended.
O'Mahony of Murphy Place, Abbeyside, Dungarvan, was convicted last October of the sexual assault of a teenager at a time in 2009 or 2010. At Tuesday’s sentencing hearing at Waterford Circuit Criminal Court his victim gave a powerful victim impact statement in which she said that the assault “is a shadow that followed me daily, making me feel weak and incapable".
"I have lost so many years of turmoil I will never regain," she added.
She told the court that what she had experienced “deeply affected my ability to form relationships. I struggled to trust people, even those who had shown me genuine kindness."
O’Mahony, whom the court was told did not accept the jury’s verdict, has been in custody since the end of his trial on October 30.
The trial had heard that the victim knew O’Mahony through her teenage years and that on the evening in question she asked him for a lift home and he gave her a drink. She said she felt drowsy and lost consciousness and when she came to her boots, pants and underwear were removed and O’Mahony was performing a sex act on her.
She told a friend soon after but says she suppressed the whole experience until 2022 when she saw a social media post from O’Mahony where he was campaigning for presidency of the IABA. In the post he was extolling “respect and dignity". She made a complaint soon after.
Gerry O’Mahony was charged with sexual assault in May 2023 but he did not inform the IABA and continued to carry out public and media functions for the association.
He was due to attend the Paris Olympics last July as an ambassador for Irish boxing until the reported on the charge in June of this year. The following day he stepped aside from his role.
At the conclusion of the trial in October, his victim consented for him to be identified but she retained her anonymity.
Sentencing on Tuesday, Judge Eugene O’Kelly said the headline sentence for the offence was in the mid range and would attract a sentence of five years.
Taking mitigating factors into account this was reduced to four years with the final nine months suspended. He said he had received a number of testimonials from people speaking in favour of O’Mahony’s contribution to his community.
In her victim impact statement, the victim told the court she had been sexually assaulted by somebody she trusted and she had no power.
“At 19 I should have been looking forward to going to college and exploring the world. I trusted nobody but the worst part was that I didn’t trust myself.”
She said she looked on “Gerry” as a father figure, “somebody who would protect me. Instead he saw me not as a child but as a victim to prey upon".
In her statement she also noted that she had contacted Tusla about the assault but “they told me an investigation had been done and that was it. I would like to know what did that investigation entail, what was done?”
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