A former mayor of Fermoy in Co Cork has been jailed for five years for sexually assaulting an eight-year-old girl almost 20 years ago.
The Circuit Criminal Court in Cork was told retired solicitor John Hussey of Corrin View, Fermoy, assaulted the girl while she was on a sleepover after attending his daughter's birthday party.
John Hussey is 67 and a former Chairman of Fermoy Urban District Council. He was first elected to the council as a Fianna Fáil councillor and later sat as an independent.
He was also a prominent criminal and civil law solicitor in the town.
On 1 and 2 November 2003, Hannah Beresford was an eight-year-old girl on a sleepover to celebrate John Hussey's daughter's birthday at his family home.
After the birthday party, Hannah and the other eight girls went upstairs to sleep in two bedrooms.
John Hussey came into one of the rooms and sexually assaulted Hannah Beresford some time later.
The following day, Hannah told her mother what had happened. She was distressed. Both the gardaí and the Southern Health Board were informed, but the matter was not pursued at the time for fear of exacerbating Hannah's trauma.
Eventually, in December 2020, Hannah made a statement to gardaí.
John Hussey was arrested four months later.
He observed his right to silence and instead gave detectives interviewing him a prepared statement denying that he had sexually assaulted Hannah Beresford.
He was charged and, on 31 January last, the day of his arraignment, he arrived at the Circuit Criminal Court in Cork with his bags packed. He pleaded guilty, surrendered his bail and went into custody.
This afternoon, his barrister Kate Aherne submitted that the assault was an isolated incident, describing it as a momentary lapse which was "at the less serious end of the scale".
But that contention was challenged by prosecuting barrister Lily Buckley and Judge Catherine Staines agreed with the prosecution.
Judge Staines said this was not a minor sexual assault. She said it caused Ms Beresford pain and violated her bodily integrity. She said it was at the higher end of the mid-range for such offences.
Judge Staines said Ms Beresford was only eight years of age when the assault occurred, and she subsequently carried guilt and shame which was not her fault.
She also said Hussey was in a position of trust.
She sentenced him to six years in jail, with one year suspended.
Judge Staines also praised Ms Beresford's bravery in delivering what she described as an articulate victim impact statement.
Hussey spoke only once during the sentencing hearing, to enter a bond to keep the peace as a condition of the suspension of one year of his sentence.
