William Connolly, a horse riding coach in his 60s from Midleton, Co Cork, was sentenced to nine years in prison for sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl in 2019. He groomed the victim by providing her with alcohol and equestrian clothing, exploiting her passion for horse riding to gain compliance. Connolly was found guilty of multiple counts including rape, oral rape, sexual assault, and child exploitation after a trial at the Central Criminal Court in Cork, where the victim bravely gave a clear and restrained impact statement describing the manipulation and abuse she endured.

The abuse came to light when the victim’s mother discovered inappropriate texts from Connolly on her daughter’s phone. Despite Connolly’s denial and attempts to discredit the victim during the trial, the court recognized the significant breach of trust and power imbalance between the coach and the teenager. The victim expressed her determination to move forward with her life and to give a voice to others who suffer in silence. Ms Justice Siobhan Lankford emphasized the gravity of Connolly’s offenses and ruled out suspending any part of his sentence, which was backdated to when he first entered custody.