President of the Irish Athletic Boxing Association Gerry O’Mahony has been found guilty of sexual assault after a week-long trial in Waterford Circuit Court.
O’Mahony, aged 67, of Murphy Place, Strand Road, Abbeyside, Dungarvan, Co Waterford had pleaded not guilty to the single charge of sexual assault.
A jury of ten men and two women deliberated for over four hours before returning their unanimous verdict.
They found that on a date between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2010 both dates inclusive O’Mahony sexually assaulted a teenage girl.
The victim wishes to retain her right to anonymity.
Trusted figure
O’Mahony was a trusted figure in the girl’s life and he employed her at a work premises. She had known him since her early teens and he had often supplied her with alcohol when she was underage.
As she got older, he would drop her home from nights out. On one occasion, after dropping other people home, he solicited her for sexual favours. She refused his advances and he eventually dropped her home.
A month later, she came to the premises after a night out, at around 1am, because she wanted to go home.
She told the court: “I had drink taken but I still had my wits about me.”
Inside the premises, he plied her with drink and after taking a few sips, she felt dazed. She said: “I just felt very drowsy all of a sudden.”
She described laying down on a surface and losing consciousness: “I was looking at the ceiling, I remember feeling disassociated from my body.”
Assault
In her testimony, after she regained consciousness, she saw that her underwear, pants, and boots had been removed. O’Mahony was performing oral sex on her without her consent.
She left the premises in an agitated state and was dropped home by O’Mahony “without a word”.
Shortly after she came home, she stated that O’Mahony sent her a text with a media file that she was unable to open. When she asked him what the picture was, he replied: “Your vagina.”
The woman told the court that he soon showed her the picture in person, which greatly disturbed and upset her. She pleaded with him to delete the picture.
She told a friend about the incident, who advised her to go to gardaí. The victim said: “I thought if I didn’t speak it would be ok and I could deny it to myself.”
The victim’s friend described the victim as being “hysterical” and “in bits” when she was outlining the incident to her.
Around a month later, the man’s wife and daughter confronted her after finding the alleged picture on the man’s phone.
The wife allegedly shouted at her: “Oh look there she is being all f***ing defensive.”
The daughter allegedly said: “Dad how could you?”
Later on that evening, O’Mahony called the victim and said that he would “get on a ferry” if she went to gardaí.
She told him that she would not because, she told the court: “I wouldn’t be able to deal with it.”
‘It boiled my blood’
Some years later, the woman saw a social media post made by the man that posted ideas regarding respect and dignity.
Upon seeing the post, which was sent to her and others, she said: “It boiled my blood.” She reported him to gardaí in 2021.
In his interview with Detective Garda Stephanie Walsh in 2022, O’Mahony denied that the incident occurred saying “I don’t have time to be a predator and I don’t want to be one”.
He added: ‘’Why did she pick on me, why me?’’ and “I never forced myself on anyone”.
On day two and three of the trial, a number of witnesses came before the court, including a friend of the victim and the daughter of O’Mahony.
The daughter of the accused described her father as being “very well known” in the area and said that the allegations made against him were false.
In Waterford Circuit Court, defence barrister Colman Cody BL told the jury in his closing argument that the victim was trying to frame herself as both a “strong woman” and a vulnerable person, by referring to unseemly behaviour by O’Mahony.
He said: “He isn’t on trial for being creepy.”
Prosecutor Connor O’Doherty BL told the jury: “The complainant did not take this case against Mr O’Mahony, the Director of Public Prosecutions did.”
He said that it was “curious” of O’Mahony to admitting to “kissing” the complainant while denying that any sort of sexual activity occurred.
Mr O’Doherty emphasised that the “historical” nature of the crime is one of the “core elements” of sexual assault.
“Society has come to a greater understanding now on why people don’t come forward with allegations. This isn’t an attempt to blacken Gerry O’Mahony’s name.”
O’Mahony was remanded in custody until his sentencing on 3 December. He stepped aside from duties of the President of the IABA on 5 June.
