November 2012
Jail for pensioner who abused children over 40-year period
A CHILD molester from Enniskillen who targeted children, for over four decades, acknowledged exposing himself and sexually assaulting his victims with the comment, “It’s not like anyone was raped or murdered.”
John James O’Rourke, of Hillview Park, who is 74-years-old, also described the older offences as being, “past their sell by date”.
He was sentenced to three years in prison when he appeared before Dungannnon Crown Court.
However, he will serve half of the sentence in custody before being released to spend 18 months on licence.
He was also ordered to participate in a Sex Offenders Programme.
The pensioner was put on the Sex Offenders Register for 20 years, which Judge Geoffrey Miller QC said would in effect be the rest of O’Rourke’s life.
O’Rourke reign of terrorising children was finally stopped in September last year when a young schoolgirl reported that he kissed and touched her inappropriately and exposed himself while attempting to pull her hand towards him.
Three other victims made allegations dating back to 1969 when he was 31-years-old.
On that occasion he also exposed himself to a girl of eight and incited her to touch him. The third child was between five and nine years of age when O’Rourke, in his forties, carried out an act of gross indecency towards her.
He also molested a 17-year-old girl and made sexual remarks to her on a number of occasions when he was in his mid-fifties, around 1996-1997.
The pensioner denied all the charges agaisnt him when he was originally arraigned at Omagh Crown Court in May this year.
It was not until a jury was sworn in and the case ready to go to trial that he applied to be re-arraigned and admitted all charges.
Judge Miller described O’Rourke’s attitude to his offending as “alarming”.
The judge said, “He showed no sign of any contrition and indeed he affected an attitude so far as the older offences were concerned whereby he feigned a lack of memory about the incident”.
Regarding the preparation of the pre-sentence report, the Judge added, “This court views his observation that ‘it’s not like anyone was raped or murdered’ and that the older offences were ‘past their sell by date’ as being indicative of an attitude of denial and lack of appreciation of the seriousness of the offending, that gives cause for considerable concern and disquiet.”
The judge also stated that he read impact reports from three of O’Rourke’s victims and, while not disclosing their contents, was “satisfied to a greater or lesser degree they suffered mental trauma as a direct result of the defendant’s actions.”
Judge Miller added that he hoped the conclusion of the court proceedings “will bring some measure of closure to each complainant.”
In his judgement, he outlined “worrying aspects” arising from the pensioner’s offending.
These, he said, included the protracted period of the offending which was in excess of 40 years which extended over several different victims.
He added that the defendant is a “real source of risk”.
However he also took into account O’Rourke’s age, his willingness to work with relevant agencies and that he will be kept under supervision after his release, when determining the sentence.
Judge Miller determined that the offences taken as individual acts fall at the “lower end of sexual offending” as the girls were touched over their clothing.
However, he added, “This should not be taken as in any sense diminishing the effect and impact upon the defendant’s victims…”
O’Rourke received a number of six month and 18 month sentences as well as the three year term, with 18 months on licence.
As the sentences were imposed to run concurrently, he will be due for release after 18 months
