A soccer coach who engaged in inappropriate and illegal sexual activity with a teenage female player has been given a six-year sentence with the final two years suspended.
Richard Farrell (61) was convicted by a jury following a trial earlier this year of four counts of defilement, which occurred on dates between August 2008 and January 2009 when the young woman was 16. He was 45 years old at the time and a soccer coach for her team.
The young woman told the Central Criminal Court in her victim impact statement of the harmful and far-reaching effects of the offending on her life.
She said that looking back to when she met Farrell she appeared “very childlike” and a “tom boy, in soccer gear every day” and it pains her now that a man could have looked at her in sexual way.
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She said she had loved soccer at the time but she now hated it.
The court heard that she wished to retain her anonymity but had no issue with Farrell being named.
“I could not imagine hurting anyone, [let] alone the most precious in society – children,” she told Farrell. “I hope my words haunt you forever.”
Farrell, with an address at Lough Conn Avenue, Ballyfermot, Dublin 10, had pleaded not guilty to the offences at his trial. He has one prior conviction for a road traffic offence.
Passing sentence on Monday, Ms Justice Eileen Creedon said it was clear the offending had a profound effect on the young woman, impacting her confidence, trust and relationships.
She said Farrell had groomed the girl over a period prior to the inappropriate sexual behaviour.
Ms Justice Creedon noted she had to have regard to rehabilitation. Farrell has been assessed by the Probation Service as at low risk of reoffending.
She noted Farrell, a father and grandfather, had not been in trouble before or since, apart from a road traffic offence, and there were testimonials before the court outlining his contribution to the community. She took into account that he had co-operated with the investigation.
Ms Justice Creedon imposed a sentence of six years and suspended the final two years on conditions including two years’ probation supervision and that he participate in appropriate offence related assessment and treatment to include a therapeutic programme for sexual harmful offending.
A prosecuting garda told Fiona Murphy SC, prosecuting, that Farrell and the girl came into contact when he was a coach for her soccer team.
The girl said her team had not been doing well until Farrell took over. She said everyone liked him, called him “Richie” and he had nicknames for the girls.
He took her phone number to contact her about sports matters, but that over time the contact became more personal and sexualised in nature.
The sexual contact began in the summer of 2008 and occurred multiple times a week.
The girl later made a complaint and Farrell was interviewed by gardaí in May 2020. He said he knew the girl but denied the defilement charges. He said there had not been any sexual relations with her that were unlawful and all sexual contact occurred after she turned 18.
The court heard Farrell had been working as a soccer coach throughout this period.
In her victim impact statement, the young woman said the legal system was invasive and she was made to feel like she was on trial with “every inch” of her background combed through. She said her own words were used against her.
“I fail to see what relevance sexual history has in any child sexual abuse case,” she said.
She said as tough as it had been to hold her head up, she had come forward for the right reasons and in the hope that he could not hurt anyone else. She thanked those who had supported her and encouraged her to keep going.
John Fitzgerald SC, defending, said Farrell accepted the verdict of the jury that he had sexual relations with someone 30 years younger than himself. He accepts it was highly inappropriate and wrong.
He also handed in a letter of apology from Farrell.
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