PATRICK DORIAN COWLAND, CHILDREN'S AUTHOR, SENTENCED TO PRISON IN GLOUCESTERSHIRE FOR HISTORICAL SEX OFFENCES

In August 2022, Patrick Dorian Cowland, a 72-year-old children's author and filmmaker from Ballagh, County Wexford, was sentenced to three and a half years in prison at Gloucester Crown Court for new abuse offences stemming from incidents in 1973 and 1982. Cowland, who was previously jailed in 1988 for hundreds of sex offences against 17 young boys, was extradited from Ireland to the UK in March after new allegations emerged. During the 1970s and 80s, Cowland used his roles as a youth worker, football coach, and martial arts instructor to gain access to children. He would often take boys away for weekends under the pretense of filming projects, booking hotels where he would commit abuse.

At his sentencing, the court was told that Cowland also used other aliases, including Patrick Cormack, PJ Cormack, and Paul Curran. In 2012, he had been sentenced to five years following his conviction for selling indecent photographs of boys and possessing around 1,000 indecent images intended for distribution. His 1988 trial at Bristol Crown Court involved admitting over 500 offences involving at least 17 boys.

Prosecutor Robin Shellard highlighted that two additional victims had come forward since Cowland's earlier conviction; both had reported abuse independently, with one victim aged approximately 12 at the time of the offences between 1979 and 1982. The first victim, who was chosen by Cowland to act in a film during his school days, recalled that after meetings related to filming, Cowland took him to a boat where sexual acts occurred. The second man, who contacted police in November 2016, recounted being sexually abused during a trip to London with Cowland in the 1970s, when Cowland’s car mysteriously broke down. Cowland booked the pair into a hotel, where he took nude photographs of the boy and subjected him to abuse. This victim suggests that the abuse lasted for three years.

Cowland's arrest followed the execution of a European arrest warrant in March 2017 in Ireland, where he had retired. He was extradited to the UK and detained at Heathrow Airport. Victims spoke of lasting psychological effects; the first said, “I still suffer from the effects of what Cowland did to me when I was a child. When I was being molested I began to self-harm. I had nobody I could turn to. My problems were severe. I had become paranoid and anxious and I was unable to trust anybody.” The second victim expressed that Cowland’s abuse profoundly impacted his life, causing moments of anger, sadness, fear, confusion, and guilt.

Details of Cowland's criminal history were read out, including a 2012 sentence of 16 months for possessing and distributing indecent images. In addition, in 1988, he received four years for indecent assault of a male under 14 and five years for buggery, both in Bristol. His criminal activities spanned approximately 25 years, and the court emphasized the lifetime damage inflicted on his victims.

Judge Michael Cullum described Cowland as a “prolific paedophile” whose actions robbed his victims of their childhood and sentenced him to three and a half years in prison, explicitly rejecting the possibility of a suspended sentence or community service. The judge noted that Cowland had attempted to live a normal life under various aliases, including Patrick Joseph Cormack, and had sought to relocate across Europe, ultimately moving to Ireland. A bail condition of €3,000 was set, supported by Cowland’s brother-in-law from Spain.

Reflecting on his prior convictions, Cowland’s history includes a 2012 sentence of 16 months for possession and distribution of indecent images, and a 1988 sentence of four years for abusing a male under 14 and buggery. Following recent convictions, he was legally required to register as a sex offender for ten years.

In a separate 2017 case, Cowland, then living in the Ballagh area, was sentenced to six months for failing to notify gardaí of his sex offender status and for not registering on the sex offenders register, stemming from previous convictions for possessing indecent photographs of children and failing to comply with sex offender registration requirements. Known also as Patrick Joseph Cormack in an effort to lead a more normal civilian life, he had attempted to move to France and later Spain after his convictions but was ultimately found and extradited back to Ireland for this offence before being sentenced.

In April 2012, Cowland publicly admitted to being a paedophile but insisted he was not active. He pleaded guilty in Warwick Crown Court to possessing 1,000 indecent images of children with the intent to distribute and to ten counts of distributing indecent photographs. During police investigations, his computer was found to contain over 23,000 images of boys, mostly at the lowest level of seriousness, with some appearing partially undressed.

His defense argued he was not actively involved in abusing children, claiming his online activities aimed to prevent his images from being used maliciously and that his website offered only legal images, featuring child models from Spain, which he claimed he had not used since 2009. However, the judge noted the significant financial gain Cowland made from selling indecent images and sentenced him to 16 months in prison, emphasizing the serious nature of his offenses.