This article is from page 11 of the 2006-05-16 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 11 JPG
A KILMIHIL publican who sexually assaulted a woman in her twenties in the toilets of his pub has been jailed for two years.
John Carey (52), a separated father-of-four, of Church Street, Kilmihil, was found guilty by a jury at the end of a two-day trial, at Ennis Circuit Court last week. He had denied two charges of sexual assault, one in March or April, 2001, and the other in May of that year.
The injured party said she went into the bathroom of the pub at around 1am. The accused entered the toilet, put his hand down her top and started feeling her breasts.
She returned to the pub in May 2001 to attend a birthday party. Asked why she went back there after what had happened previously, she said, “I didn’t think he would do it a second time.”
On that occasion she said he followed her into the toilet again, and “started feeling” her.
She said the accused threatened her not to open her mouth. However defence Counsel Micheál Ó Sé said, “This is the first we have heard of that.”
Mr Ó Sé asked the jury why the woman would return to the pub, if something had happened on the first occasion. He said there were “severe gaps and significant inconsistencies” to the allegations.
Sergeant John Ryan told the court the accused was a well-known publican in Kilmihil for a number of years.
He said he no longer runs the pub – which is now closed – and worked as a machine driver on the Ennis bypass.
The court heard details of the victim impact statement. It stated that the victim had spoken about committing suicide and had lost confidence in herself, as a result of Carey’s actions.
She said that Carey was a “powerful man” in his area and she was afraid, while the incidents made her feel sick and would always remain with her.
She said she felt that the accused was “laughing and sniggering” at her, while she gave evidence in the trial. Mr Ó Sé responded by saying, “That is not the impression I had from him.”
The barrister said his client would be known as “a drinking man” who was a “very good customer of his own premises.”
Judge Con Murphy said the accused was “very invasive to this lady.”
He said the offences were committed in the ladies toilets, which was a sanctum for ladies.
“This man was a man of substance in Kilmihil, looking after his children, but now his life and reputation are effectively ruined,” he said.
He jailed him for two years and placed Carey on the sex offenders register for five years.