A four-year jail term has been imposed on a Lough Derg pilgrimage site worker who duped unsuspecting women into helping him so he could sexually assault them.
Tomas Gallagher of Rathanlacky, Dunkineely, Co Donegal asked five female victims to help him repair washing machines and tumble dryers as part of a move to sexually assault them.
Gallagher (42) pleaded guilty at Letterkenny Circuit Court to four counts of sexual assault on adults, two counts of sexual assault on children and one charge of invitation to a child to sexually touch.
Judge John Aylmer on Wednesday sentenced the father-of-one to five years, with the last 12 months suspended during which he must remain under the supervision of the probation service.
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He said the crimes were “deceitful”, “premeditated” and “egregious acts of violence in a sacred place of pilgrimage”.
In mitigation, he noted an early plea, the fact the accused had no previous convictions, that he appeared to be remorseful and ashamed of his actions. The judge said Gallagher has been ostracised in the local community.
Gallagher 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.
He also pleaded that in the same period and location, he did attempt, by inviting, inducing, counselling or inciting a child to sexual touching.
The victims, who cannot be named to protect their identity, ranged in age from their early teens to older women.
The offences took place in 2022 when Gallagher worked as a maintenance man at the retreat, as well as transporting pilgrims by boat.
Statements given to gardaí by victims told how Gallagher had approached them, asking them to come into a laundry room as he needed help fixing various machines.
The women were asked to reach behind them into the machines while Gallagher fixed a “pipe.”
They thought were holding a pipe but instead they were gripping the accused’s penis.
One young woman eventually came forward and told a person in charge what happened which led to others coming forward making complaints of a similar nature against Gallagher.
He was interviewed by gardaí on three occasions and initially denied anything untoward had happened.
During one interview Gallagher admitted asking one woman to hold a pipe on a tumble dryer as it had been leaking.
He said 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.
A victim impact statement read out by one young woman 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.
A statement read out from 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.
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.
His barrister, Colm Smyth, SC,
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.
