Irish Olympic swimming coach George Gibney jailed over indecent assaults
Former Irish Olympic swimming coach George Gibney has been sentenced to 16 years and eight months, with the final 14 months of the prison term suspended, after being found guilty of indecently assaulting four girls and attempting to rape one of them.
Gibney, 78, was found guilty of indecently assaulting the four girls and the attempted rape of one of the girls in a changing room when she was 12.
He had pleaded guilty to five charges of indecently assaulting a girl in Ireland in 1976, but denied dozens of other charges of indecently assaulting the girls when they were aged between eight and 15, at various locations between 1974 and 1981.
Earlier this year, a jury returned guilty verdicts on 40 charges relating to incidents in the 1970s and 1980s.
Gibney, who was arrested on foot of an Irish extradition warrant in Florida least year, had lived in the US for years.
At the Central Criminal Court in Dublin on Monday, Judge Michael O’Higgins sentenced him to 16 years and eight months with the final 14 months suspended.
Waiving her anonymity, one of the victims Orla Poole told reporters: “In an ideal world, no child should have to deal with abuse; sexual, physical, psychological or otherwise.
“Grooming, manipulation and deception are oftentimes difficult to identify but are the hallmark of a paedophile.
“This is especially so in highly competitive sporting mentor/coach situations, where young immature, vulnerable and naive persons are dependent on the adult to show the way and do the right thing.”
Ms Poole thanked lawyers, gardaí and victims organisations for their support, adding: “I spent decades in silence because of his perverted behaviours.”
She said she did not think she would be believed but said this is “no longer the case in Ireland” and there are organisations who will listen and act.
“The times of sweeping things under the rug, turning a blind eye, or holding that children should be seen and not heard are gone.”
Ms Poole appealed for survivors to “speak when you are ready” and “reclaim your agency”, adding: “You will be heard and believed.”
Some of the offending in the case involved forced oral sex and digital penetration and continued over a lengthy period of time.
