EX-PRIEST DENIS NOLAN'S JAIL TIME SLASHED ON APPEAL FOR HISTORICAL CHILD ABUSE
A former priest who was sentenced to an additional five years for the “predatory” rape and abuse of a schoolboy over 20 years ago – having previously been jailed for 19 years for similar offences relating to three other victims – has had his most recent jail term halved on appeal.Denis Nolan (71) formerly of The Presbytery, Rathnew, Co Wicklow, pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to one count of oral rape and 36 counts of sexual assault on dates between 1994 and 2000 at locations in Dublin and Wicklow.
Nolan was aged between 42 and 48 at the time of the offending, while the victim was between 11 and 17 years old.
The court heard the abuse included inappropriate touching, fondling, masturbation, and oral rape.
Nolan has been in custody since 2014 and was serving three sentences totaling 19 years for sexual offenses against three other victims when the additional five-year term was imposed, giving an anticipated release date of March 2032.
Mr Justice Paul McDermott had set a headline sentence of eight years for the rape charge but reduced this to five years to run consecutive to his other sentences, with the court recognizing Nolan’s age and that an eight-year sentence would see him in his early 80s upon release.
Nolan was also handed concurrent sentences of three years on the sexual assault charges and was directed to undergo five years of post-release supervision.
The Court of Appeal quashed the five-year sentence, sentencing Nolan to two and a half years in prison instead.
Mr Justice John Edwards described Nolan’s offending as “egregious” and said it had a “highly destructive impact” on the victim’s life.
The court concurred with the trial judge that each offense should be “separately and individually” marked and emphasized that Nolan should not receive a “free pass.” The court also considered whether the additional five years was appropriate and determined that, had Nolan been sentenced all at once for these offenses and his current sentences, the total would likely be around 21 or 22 years, not 24.
In resentencing Nolan, the judge initially proposed a 12-year sentence with a one-third discount, resulting in an eight-year post-mitigation sentence.
Showing “some modest mercy,” the court then reduced this by five and a half years, meaning Nolan would serve an additional two and a half years, resulting in an overall sentence of 21 and a half years, starting from the end of his current 19-year term.
