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09/05/2002
Convicted sex abuser's jail term doubled
Former leading human rights campaigner Vincent McKenna has had his jail sentence doubled for child abuse in the Republic of Ireland.
McKenna was jailed for three years in November 2000 for a series of sexual assaults on his daughter. However, following protests that his three-year jail term was too lenient, the case was referred to Dublin's Court of Criminal Appeal where the term was increased to six years on Thursday, May 9.
Sorcha (20), who had previously waived her right to anonymity, was not in court to hear the verdict as she was studying for exams.
Speaking in an interview on BBC Radio Ulster, Sorcha’s grandmother, Mary McCleary, said: “We are ecstatic. The tension in this house has been absolutely awful in the last few days since we heard it was going to finally happen today.
“Thank God the verdict went with us for a change.
“It has been a long, hard slog trying to get it this far. We are very pleased - the whole family is pleased.”
McKenna, 37, was given a three-year term after being convicted of 31 counts of sexual assault against his daughter.
McKenna, from Haypark Avenue in Belfast, carried out the abuse over a period of eight years, between 1985 and 1993, beginning when she was four years old.
Before his public shaming, McKenna had worked for the anti-violence group, Families Against Intimidation and Terror, before setting up the Northern Ireland Human Rights Bureau in Belfast.
(AMcE)
McKenna was jailed for three years in November 2000 for a series of sexual assaults on his daughter. However, following protests that his three-year jail term was too lenient, the case was referred to Dublin's Court of Criminal Appeal where the term was increased to six years on Thursday, May 9.
Sorcha (20), who had previously waived her right to anonymity, was not in court to hear the verdict as she was studying for exams.
Speaking in an interview on BBC Radio Ulster, Sorcha’s grandmother, Mary McCleary, said: “We are ecstatic. The tension in this house has been absolutely awful in the last few days since we heard it was going to finally happen today.
“Thank God the verdict went with us for a change.
“It has been a long, hard slog trying to get it this far. We are very pleased - the whole family is pleased.”
McKenna, 37, was given a three-year term after being convicted of 31 counts of sexual assault against his daughter.
McKenna, from Haypark Avenue in Belfast, carried out the abuse over a period of eight years, between 1985 and 1993, beginning when she was four years old.
Before his public shaming, McKenna had worked for the anti-violence group, Families Against Intimidation and Terror, before setting up the Northern Ireland Human Rights Bureau in Belfast.
(AMcE)
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