Father Jailed for Seven Years for Sexual Abuse of Daughter

A man who sexually abused his daughter during her childhood, telling her they had “a special relationship” her mother would be jealous of, has been jailed for seven years. Gordon McKenna (79), formerly of Marian Grove, Old Moore Street, Mountmellick, Co Laois, now living in Germany, pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting his daughter at various locations. The locations included the family home in Tallaght, Dublin, on mountain biking trips and at the cinema, on dates between 1977 and 1983. He has no previous convictions. McKenna had previously denied the charges but pleaded guilty before his trial began at the Central Criminal Court. Seoirse Ó Dúnlaing SC, prosecuting, told Ms Justice Melanie Greally that Jane Murray (55) wished to waive her right to anonymity to allow for naming of her father in reporting of the case. She joined the hearing remotely via an audio link. The court heard Ms Murray’s mother suspected McKenna was having an affair when Ms Murray was 13 years old. It was at this point the teenager told her mother that she was “the other woman”. McKenna left the family home and the abuse came to an end. Ms Murray was seen by her family doctor and attended counselling. McKenna, Ms Murray and her mother later participated in joint family counselling but McKenna actively influenced his daughter’s communications. Her mother later featured in an RTÉ broadcast regarding child sexual abuse. McKenna continued to have contact with his daughter and he did not allow her to call him “Dad”. When they were out in public, he would tell people she was his girlfriend. The abuse came to the attention of gardaí and Tusla after Ms Murray applied for records of those counselling sessions in 2018. She went on to make statements of complaint. At this point, McKenna had remarried and moved to Germany. Through mutual assistance, gardaí contacted him but he denied any wrongdoing. Padraig Dwyer SC, defending, said McKenna had written a letter to the court outlining his sorrow and regret for his actions. He asked the court to take into account his guilty plea, his advanced age and his work history. Mr Dwyer said the accused had remarried. His wife is receiving palliative care and McKenna cares for her. He outlined that McKenna had a number of medical issues. Passing sentence on Tuesday, Ms Justice Greally acknowledged that the harm caused to Ms Murray by her father was “unquantifiable and impossible to articulate”. She said her victim-impact statement, read into the record by Mr O Dúnlaing, was “poignant and restrained” and that Ms Murray is only beginning to process her childhood experience. She acknowledged the abuse impacted Ms Murray‘s sense of self, she has a lack of value and self-worth and it has affected her capacity to form relationships. Ms Justice Greally noted Ms Murray spoke of her father’s deviousness and how he abused her without any care for her wellbeing and her future. “Her victim-impact statement is a simple expression of her immense sadness and sense of loss for what might have been,” she said. The judge said McKenna was responsible for Ms Murray’s care as a child while her mother was working. She described the abuse as “a highly specific grooming and manipulation”, noting that McKenna taught his daughter to control and switch off her emotions, that he played tricks to scare her and was amused by her fear. Ms Justice Greally said McKenna told his daughter they had “a special deep relationship that no one could understand and that her mother would be jealous if she knew”. She noted that Ms Murray said she was abused most days after school. The judge noted that a maximum sentence of two years applies to a number of the earlier incidences of abuse due to the legislation that existed at the time. This, she said, “in no way reflects the culpability of the offender or the harm caused”. She said in mitigation she was taking into account the plea of guilty but noted it was a late plea and that Ms Murray still had to live with the prospect of a trial and giving evidence. She further acknowledged McKenna’s lack of previous convictions, his remorse for his actions, his medical conditions and his current wife’s poor medical condition, as well as the fact he acts as her carer in Germany. Ms Justice Greally imposed concurrent sentences of 16 months for the earlier offences and a consecutive term of five years and eight months for the later offences. These later offences carry a maximum penalty of 10 years following a change in legislation. The judge said she didn’t consider a post-release supervision order was necessary in the case.