A man from Fermanagh has received a prison sentence of over three years due to historical child sexual abuse convictions.
Gerard Augustine Quaile (60), who resides at Creamery Close in Florencecourt, was charged with seven instances of indecent assault. Six of these charges were associated with a single female child, while the remaining charge involved a different female child.
The offense took place between 1980 and 1985.
He rejected all accusations, yet after a trial that extended slightly more than a week at Dungannon Crown Court, the jury delivered a majority verdict on four counts concerning one victim, while acquitting him of the remaining charges.
The abuse began when the victim was about 12-years-old and occurred on a regular basis, involving Quaile carrying sex acts on himself then have her do this for him.
Quaile warned her against telling anyone convincing her she would get the blame.
The victim made a video-recorded interview in 2019, although previously made a statement to police in 2014, but no action was taken against Quaile.
After reading an article in the Impartial Reporter in 2019 about historic sexual abuse which was reported but got nowhere, she decided to go back to police.
The defense attorney questioned why, when she decided to come forward in 2019, she chose to contact a newspaper that was subsequently investigated by the police.
The victim mentioned that she had come across other comparable cases and chose to share her experience, even though she wanted to remain anonymous.
The defence put it to the victim that she “conspired” with the other complainant to bolster each other’s story and put forward a combined case against Quaile, by both going to the newspapers in 2019 and then to police.
This was immediately turned down with the victim clearly asserting, "I stand by what I believe."
Quaile consistently refuted all allegations of misconduct, asserting that he couldn’t fathom why the accuser would fabricate such accusations against him.
Nevertheless, the jury rejected this argument regarding four charges, instead convicting him with a majority vote.
He was exonerated regarding the outstanding issues.
Judge Richard Greene ordered him to be held in custody pending the creation of pre-sentencing reports.
Following several postponements, Quaile made an appearance on Friday for his sentencing hearing. During this proceeding, Judge Greene commented, "The victim was particularly susceptible due to her young age and encountered a manipulative adult male who exploited her fears to prevent her from disclosing what had happened."
She demonstrated bravery and fortitude by coming forward and sharing her experiences, and she deserves recognition for this.
Since Quaile still denies the charges, the judge commented, "I clearly remember thevictim's testimony where she mentioned multiple times feeling unclean and embarrassed. Additionally, she expressed confidence in her own account, stating that the jury's decisions fully justify her stance."
Quaile received a jail term totaling three years and two months and will be listed on the Sex Offender Registry indefinitely.
A Sexual Offences Prevention Order might also be imposed; however, these conditions were not brought before the court during the sentencing hearing.
Judge Greene set this for finalization on April 30th.
