A 58-year-old former sailor who was described as being a member of a paedophile sex ring operating in Cobh, County Cork, has been sentenced to six months in jail for indecently assaulting a seven-year old boy.
Patrick Collins of Bellmont Place, Cobh, is currently serving a ten-year sentence for abusing four other boys.
Gardaí say he is the third member of a paedophile ring operating in Cobh to be jailed.
Patrick Collins was described in court as a serial abuser.
In February 2001 he was sentenced to 15 years in jail for abusing and raping young boys aged between six and 12. That sentence was later reduced to ten years on appeal.
At the Circuit Criminal Court in Cork today, he pleaded guilty to two counts of indecently assaulting another seven-year-old boy.
The victim, now in his late teens, came forward in November 2000. The court was told the abuse had had a traumatic impact on his life.
Sergeant John Quinn told the court that subsequent investigations by Gardaí established that Collins was 'deeply involved' in a paedophile ring operating in Cobh, with his abuse taking place over three decades.
Patrick Collins is said to be the third member of this paedophile ring to be jailed. Two are serving jail sentences of six years and two years, while others are currently under investigation by Gardaí.
Judge Sean Ó Donnabháin added a further six months to the ten-year sentence Patrick Collins is already serving.
He ordered that he be placed under the supervision of the Probation and Welfare Service for four years following his release. He will also be placed on the sex offenders' register for ten years.
