Property developer jailed for ‘truly shocking’ assaults on three teenage boys
A property developer who decided to act as “judge, jury and executioner” and gave three young boys a “terrible beating” in a Co Sligo warehouse has been handed a two-year prison sentence. Cathal O’Connor (40) was on Friday sentenced at Sligo Circuit Criminal Court to five years in prison with the final three years suspended for six years. O’Connor must also pay his three victims €35,000 each by June 30th.The father of two, of Farmleigh Manor, Sligo, pleaded guilty to three counts of assault causing harm to three 13-year-old boys at the Northwest Business Park, Collooney, on March 18th, 2024. Six other charges of false imprisonment and making threats to kill were taken into account.Judge Keenan Johnson said he had “no option” but to impose a custodial sentence on O’Connor given the severity of the three assaults. He said aggravating factors included the “extremely serious” violence and threats used by O’Connor; his brandishing of a saw to one boy’s neck; his threat to cut off the boy’s arms, legs and head which was “shocking beyond belief” and caused enormous distress to both him and a 13-year-old girl who was made watch; choking the boy until he blacked out and the age difference between both accused and the victims. READ MOREKinahan cartel member Sean McGovern apologises to victims, seeks reduced prison sentenceSinking of Irish-born billionaire’s superyacht was not due to storm – reportsTonight’s Late Late Show could be Patrick Kielty’s last. Who needs the other more?UAE says Iran cannot be trusted over Hormuz strait; Trump threatens to withdraw troops from Spain and ItalyOther factors included the “repeated punching and kneeing” of the three victims, the prolonged duration of the assaults over 48 minutes , and the fact that they were subjected to multiple death threats, together with efforts to intimidate them into silence. A co-accused, Simon Cavanagh (39), of Brú na hAbhainn, Collooney, was sentenced to two and a half years for two counts of falsely imprisoning the boys. The judge suspended Cavanagh’s sentence in its entirety for six years. He must also pay €3,000 to each victim within a year. On a third count of false imprisonment, the judge directed he be assessed as to his suitability for community service, and if deemed suitable, serve 240 hours.Mitigating factors included the men’s guilty pleas, that neither had previous convictions and both were deemed at low risk of reoffending.Several letters of testimonials were handed up for both men, including one from former Sligo/Leitrim Fianna Fáil TD and now managing director of public affairs and advocacy firm Pontis Advisory Ltd Marc MacSharry, which stated O’Connor had an “impeccable record as a law-abiding citizen”.MacSharry said he had known O’Connor and his wider family for more than 30 years. He said he was “disappointed to learn the details of what had occurred and firmly believes the incident was completely out of character” for O’Connor. He said he was aware that the accused accepted the “very serious errors of judgement he made” and he believes there is “no chance of anything like this ever happening again.” The judge noted there had been “a lot of discussion recently around the furnishing of testimonials in criminal sentence hearings”. “Ideally the persons furnishing the testimonials should be available for cross examination and if this is not possible their references should be given on affidavit,” he said. The judge added that his commentary on references was “not to be taken as a criticism of the referees in this case” and said he was “absolutely satisfied that all the referees in this case ... have acted with the utmost good faith.” The court heard the boys had been in O’Connor’s property making “a little house out of furniture they found in the prefab”.The judge said while they shouldn’t have been there, there could be “absolutely no justification for the actions of the two accused and the aggression” O’Connor displayed when he caught them. He said the boys were “unfortunately in the wrong place at the wrong time”, and it seemed clear O’Connor had “serious anger management issues” and “took the law into his own hands.” “He clearly allowed his anger to take over and he lost all sense of reason,” the judge said, adding that the numerous threats to kill and false imprisonment was “disturbing, callous, outrageous and completely unacceptable in a civilised society”. Judge Johnson agreed to defer O’Connor’s sentence to July 1st next to allow him time to get his business affairs in order. Defence barrister Keith O’Grady told the court O’Connor employs 100 people. O’Connor must also complete an anger management course. The judge wished the three victims and their families well and hoped they could “move on with their lives and live them to their full potential. They deserve nothing less”. [ Developer assaulted three boys in ‘traumatic’ Sligo business park incident, court hearsOpens in new window ]Speaking afterwards on behalf of the boys’ parents, one mother told The Irish Times they were “delighted” with the judge’s decision. “The vicious nature of the crime against our children has been hard to comprehend. Nothing can compensate for the pain and trauma that our children and families have been through,” she said. “For these adults to traumatise our boys in such a manner is beyond comprehension,” she added and hoped they could “be allowed heal and move on in privacy”.
