WILLIAM TOLAND SENTENCED TO EIGHT YEARS IN DUBLIN FOR SEXUAL ABUSE OF GIRL
In July 2012, William Toland, a 59-year-old man from Dublin, was sentenced to eight years in prison for sexually abusing a girl over a period of seven years.The court heard that Toland, from Balcurris Road, Ballymun, had assaulted the girl starting when she was just seven years old.
Judge Patricia Ryan imposed two consecutive four-year sentences due to the number of offences, resulting in a total of eight years to be served.
Toland had pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court last June to 58 counts of sexual abuse committed between November 1993 and November 2000.
A jury convicted him on 56 of those counts, while two counts resulted in non-unanimous verdicts.
The court ordered that the identity of the now 24-year-old victim be protected, but Toland’s name was permitted to be published in the media.
Garda Sheila O’Brien told prosecutor Cormac Quinn that the abuse took place in the girl’s home, Toland’s home, and other locations.
The trial revealed that Toland would often visit the girl’s room when he was intoxicated.
The victim explained that she did not report the abuse at the time because Toland had told her no one would believe her.
