Sligo man jailed for 20 years for sexual abuse of five of his children

By Niamh O'Donoghue and Eimear Dodd

A man who sexually abused five of his children, who were locked in a room for days at a time without food and forced to drink urine, has been jailed for 20 years.

Noel Farrell (70) pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to a number of sample counts of sexual abuse against his four daughters and one son at various addresses in Co Sligo over two decades.

Sentencing him on Friday, Justice Tony Hunt said this was a case he suspected would stand out in his memory “for all the wrong reasons” including the extreme cruelty and gravity of the offending. “It is truly shocking,” he said.

“One runs out of words in trying to describe the depths plumbed in this particular case. I say this as a way of trying to illustrate how extreme and awful the nature of the facts in this case are.”

He said the complainants were dealt a terrible hand in life and were exposed to a “grotesque breach of parental trust”. He said they had shown an extraordinary degree of fortitude and courage in how they faced up to their lives.

Noting the lack of mitigating factors in the case, save for the guilty plea, Justice Hunt set a headline sentence of 30 years, which he reduced to 20 years.

He said there was no need to impose a post-release supervision order, because if Farrell “does emerge from a custodial sentence”, he will be extremely elderly.

Farrell, of Rathedmond Estate, Sligo, Co Sligo, made no visible reaction as the sentence was handed down, while the complainants in the case embraced each other.

The court heard that four of the five children wished to waive their right to anonymity so Farrell could be identified in reporting and that the fifth did not wish to be named herself but wished for Farrell to be named.

In victim impact statements, the five siblings spoke of the effects of the abuse on their mental health, relationships and lives.

Some of the victims also spoke about developing addiction issues and the impact of being placed into care.

Farrell initially faced 109 counts, but pleaded guilty to three counts of rape against three of his daughters, and 19 counts of indecent assault and sexual assault relating to all five complainants.

Evidence was heard that the abuse included rape, sexual assault, inappropriate touching and digital penetration.

The five victims were aged between two and 17 during the periods when Farrell abused them.

Giving evidence last December, Garda Sergeant Diarmuid Fearon outlined that Farrell and his late wife had serious issues with alcohol.

The court heard evidence of neglect, including some of the children often going hungry, being locked in a room for days and being forced to drink urine to survive.

After the marriage broke down, Farrell went to England. Some of the children were taken into care in 1981.

The court was told the Health Board had concerns about sexual misconduct and this was reported in some form in 1989.

Justice Hunt said it was clear from the victim impact statements that the abuse caused profound and enduring harm to the five complainants.

“I want to say how impressive you are and how impressive you have been in facing what you faced and how you faced it,” he told them. “…You can hold your head up high.”

The first complainant, Amanda, told gardaí her father sexually abused her for the first time when she was around seven years’ old by putting his toe into her vagina. He also abused her on other occasions.

She was later taken into care, then went to live with her grandmother after which the abuse ended. She confronted her father in the pub when she was 18, asking why he did it and he replied “I don't know”.

In her statement, Amanda said she believes what happened to her as a child had a huge impact on the course of her life.

She said she developed alcoholism and described how this affected her life. She said she would encourage others to come forward, adding that her life is different now.

Farrell also admitted abusing another daughter Helen. Evidence was heard that she was aged between four and six-and-a-half when the abuse took place.

She told gardaí that the children would be locked in a bedroom when Farrell and her mother left the house. There was a bucket left in the room for them to use.

She said they could be left for a day or two while their parents were out. She did not really understand what was happening.

On one occasion, Farrell put her on his knees, then sexually assaulted her by digitally penetrating her vagina.

The abuse also included inappropriate touching and oral rape.

She was taken into care when she was four or five and the abuse continued whenever he would take her for visits.

In her victim impact statement, Helen said the abuse had a “devastating and lasting impact”, and took away her sense of safety and innocence.

She said the trauma has affected all aspects of her life and she became an alcoholic. She said she has worked hard to begin healing, but the effects of the abuse remain a part of her life.

Jessica Farrell told gardaí she was first abused when she was around three and half years' old in an aunt's house.

In one incident, Farrell brought her to his room, sexually abused her and said he would give her money to buy sweets if she did not cry.

She was taken into care when she was four.

When she was older, she asked Farrell about the abuse. He told her it was because her mother was always out drinking to which she replied that was no excuse.

Reading her victim impact statement, Jessica Farrell said she was hurt by the person who was supposed to protect her the most.

She said she felt she was “the one taken away” when the truth came out, spent 10 years in care and felt she was “the one being punished”.

She described confronting Farrell, and that over time, she saw a different side to her father and someone who was trying to change.

She said she forgave him, not because what he did could ever be excused, but because she needed to.

“The impact of your actions did not end years ago,” she said, adding that she is still healing.

Farrell further pleaded guilty to two counts of indecently assaulting his son Christopher.

Reading his victim impact statement, Christopher said the abuse affected his mental health, relationships and education as he was unable to trust others.

He said he turned to addiction later in his teens to “try to block out the trauma”.

He spoke about feelings of shame and embarrassment about the abuse.

“I've learnt to be a man with no guidance, no love, no support from you”, he said, adding that Farrell was supposed to protect him, but instead “all you taught me was pain”.

Christopher Farrell said he was “going to do everything in my power” to be the man he was supposed to be and to move forward in his life.

Farrell also pleaded guilty to raping and abusing a fourth daughter. She went into care when she was three, but would often run away, the court heard. She went to her mother's house when she was around 11 and Farrell opened the door. The court heard this was the first time she ever met him.

She was 14 when Farrell sexually abused her for the first time while she was staying at her mother's house.

She described Farrell abusing her in a similar manner on other occasions while she was living with her mother. She stayed there for about one year before going back into care.

Farrell also raped her when she was 17 in March 1997, the court heard.

She had gone to visit her mother and on the Saturday night, she went to meet Farrell, who took her to a gig with him.

Afterwards, Farrell told her she would stay in her aunt's house as it was too late to bring her home. He said she would sleep in the bed beside him as he forgot to tell her aunt she was staying.

She was terrified and Farrell pretended to be asleep for a few minutes before he started to touch her inappropriately, then raped her.

She left the room and a short time later, her aunt called her into her own room, and told the girl to sleep beside her. She did not tell her aunt what had happened.

She reported what had happened to care workers a short time later.

A formal complaint was made to gardaí in 2019. Farrell was voluntarily interviewed in March 2022 and denied all the allegations against him.

In her statement, the fourth daughter said she does not think her father will ever “understand or feel the way you affected my life.”

“You convinced so many people that you never did anything to us,” she said.

“I was only a baby and you took my life away from me.” She said the abuse impacted her mental health and that she developed anorexia.

Gda Sgt Fearon agreed with defence counsel that Farrell's guilty pleas were of value to the prosecution.

A GP report was provided to the court. Farrell has a significant history of alcoholism and has been sober for several years.

Defence counsel said her instructions are to apologise to each victim and that Farrell accepts and acknowledges the “profound consequences” of his actions.

She noted that her client's last offence was in 1997 and that he has been in custody since he pleaded in early November.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help. In the case of an emergency, always dial 999/112.