*Conor Gavin.
A former Clare minor gaelic football captain has been jailed for two years and four months for the sexual assault of a woman.
At Ennis Circuit Court, Judge Francis Comerford imposed the 28 month prison term on Conor Gavin (32) of Paradise, Ballynacally, Co Clare for the sexual assault of the woman at a house in Co Clare on July 18th 2021.
The sentencing hearing was told that Mr Gavin captained the Clare minor gaelic football team in 2011 and has also coached in recent years.
Mr Gavin is a first-time offender and in sentencing, Judge Comerford said that Mr Gavin sexually assaulted the woman after making the ‘very bizarre’, ‘inappropriate’ and ‘not rational’ decision to strip down to his shorts and get into a bed – uninvited – with two women.
Mr Gavin had returned to the house with friends after a night out.
Judge Comerford said, “There isn’t much scope for rehabilitation when one doesn’t accept that there is an offence”.
Judge Comerford said that Mr Gavin will be placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register and will “suffer all of the disgrace that someone receives who has committed a sexual offence”.
Judge Comerford said that there is limited mitigation in the case as Mr Gavin has not expressed any remorse for his offence or apologised to the victim.
Judge Comerford said that no indication of any apology at any stage “accentuates the harm done by this offending”.
Judge Comerford said that Mr Gavin is still in denial over the ‘serious offence’. Judge Comerford said that it was not a planned sexual assault and was opportunistic.
Mr Gavin denied the charge but was found guilty by a jury in February.
In her victim impact statement, the injured party told the court that she is hopeful that after the judgement, “I will be able to move on with my life and close this chapter of what I can only describe as a horror story I never asked to be part of”.
Reading from the statement in court, she said, “All I ever wanted was an apology and for Conor Gavin to admit what he had done to me and say sorry.
“I never got that and that is really hard. Conor Gavin had the audacity to take the stand during the trial and deny what was done to me. That to me is unacceptable and leaves a detrimental impact on my mental health”.
Mr Gavin sexually assaulted the woman in July 2021 and in her victim impact statement, the woman said, “The past four years have been extremely exhausting. I have felt the greatest deal of shame one could possibly imagine and although I know what happened to me was not my fault, it is still a feeling that I cannot shake”.
She said, “I have a tremendous amount of anger which I’m unsure if I will ever fully be able to let go of…It is an extremely bitter pill to swallow having to accept that this is something I will never be able to erase from my memory and something that I will carry with me forever. I lost a part of myself that night which I don’t believe that I will ever get back”.
The woman said that almost four years ago on July 18th 2021, her whole word was turned upside down when she was sexually assaulted by Conor Gavin.
She said, “An unprovoked assault which should never have happened”.
The woman said that having to write the victim impact statement she has “to relive the biggest nightmare of my life” but added “I am however going to take this opportunity to have my voice heard”.
The woman said that after the assault “I was in a complete state of shock and disbelief. I could not and did not want to believe that something like this had happened to me”.
On the impact that the sexual assault had on her, the woman said: “My self esteem shattered into a million pieces, and my self confidence was non-existent…I was a complete shell of myself”.
The woman said that she also suffered from panic attacks as a result of the assault. The woman paid tribute to her boyfriend for his support since the sexual assault.
In sentencing, Judge Comerford said that the offence involved the digital penetration of a vagina which he said was “high on the scale of intensity”.
Counsel for Mr Gavin, Patrick Whyms BL said that his client accepts the jury’s verdict and will not appeal the jury verdict.
Mr Whyms said that on the night Mr Gavin had six pints in the pub and brought cans of Bulmers cider back to the house.
Mr Whyms said his client consumed a lot of drink and his drinking “must have been a factor in the poor decision making to go into the bedroom, take off most of his clothing and get into the bed with two female persons”.
Mr Whyms said that the DPP had directed that the case could be dealt with in the district court on a plea of guilty only.
Mr Whyms said that Mr Gavin has a good work history and currently works at a manufacturing plant in Shannon. Mr Whyms said that it is in the public domain that Mr Gavin captained the Clare minor football team in 2011.
