MAN SENTENCED TO PRISON ON CHILD DEFILEMENT CHARGES
A 52-year-old man from Mayo, who established a youth club and later groomed a 16-year-old boy before engaging in sexual activity at his residence, has received a sentence of two and a half years in prison.Patrick Lynn, residing in Greenhills Estate, Ballina, pleaded guilty to two counts of child defilement, related to incidents occurring between May 30, 2014, and June 6, 2014, in a town in County Mayo and in western Sligo.
During a Circuit Court session in Mullingar today, Judge Keenan Johnson described Mr.
Lynn’s actions as a severe breach of trust, and indicated that a custodial sentence was necessary.
He noted the offenses were in the mid to high severity range and considered a four-year sentence, but decided to suspend one year and six months, owing to mitigating circumstances.
The case had previously been heard in Sligo in 2018, where Garda Mary Tighe testified that the victim, who had just finished Transition Year in 2014, had been on work experience at a local shop in west Sligo.
Lynn, who also worked nearby, would sometimes give leftover baked goods to the victim when he was alone.
Lynn later approached the boy, inviting him over for coffee, which the boy initially declined, returning home instead.
On his way, he noticed a Facebook message from Lynn, who stated he saw them in the shop.
The boy considered this message harmless.
Lynn visited the shop again, not inviting the boy to his home but asking for his age, to which the boy replied he was 16.
Lynn continued messaging him via Facebook, asking for his phone number.
As the messages became suggestive, the boy felt increasingly uncomfortable.
Eventually, Lynn asked to meet, and the boy agreed because he wanted the contact to cease.
Lynn picked him up in his car, which had air freshener and rosary beads hanging inside, and they traveled to Lynn's family home, where he lived alone with his elderly parents.
There, Lynn instructed the boy to go upstairs, pulled down his trousers, and engaged in a sexual act.
On another occasion, Lynn drove the boy to a coastal area and engaged in sex with him in his car.
The victim later told Lynn he would not meet him again and blocked him on Facebook, ignoring all subsequent messages.
The boy stated that Lynn did not threaten him but was aware that he was uncomfortable and that he was only 16.
The misconduct was uncovered when the victim's mother borrowed his laptop and found the Facebook messages, which she perceived as sexual in nature.
She showed them to her eldest daughter, who monitored her son's Facebook activity.
When questioned, the victim refused to speak about the messages.
The victim’s sister expressed concern upon seeing the messages, describing them as suggestive and indicative of inappropriate conduct.
Arrangements were made for the boy to file a formal complaint at the local Garda Station.
During police questioning, Lynn acknowledged his arrest and confirmed he knew the boy, having served him at a shop counter.
He claimed the boy approached him claiming to be gay and that he only 'came on to' him.
Lynn admitted to actively seeking him out on Facebook, using a youth club’s Facebook page he had founded years earlier, which has since been deleted.
After sentencing, Judge Johnson postponed the case until December 1 to allow Lynn to arrange care for his elderly mother, whom he is responsible for.
