November 2014 Abuse victim glad to see uncle jailed A 35-year-old man who on Wednesday watched his uncle being sent to jail for sexually abusing him when he was a teenager said he was “pleased” with the sentence handed down by the judge. Sean, who waived his right to anonymity to allow his abusive uncle to be named, said that while there were no winners in a case such as this he is glad his uncle is now behind bars. He also said that as a child, he placed his trust in an uncle he “loved and adored” but who went on to sexually abuse him. Besides being jailed for two years, 52-year-old Kevin McVeigh from Glenavy Road in Crumlin was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years and banned from working with children after he was convicted by a jury of abusing Sean. The abuse occurred in a vehicle on the Hannahstown Road on the outskirts of Belfast in 1992 when Sean was 13 and his uncle was around 30. At the time, the McVeigh family all lived in the St James’s area of west Belfast. After the sentence was passed, father-of-two Sean said that despite the incident occurring over 20 years ago, he still suffers nightmares as a result of what happened. He also revealed: “Since he was convicted in court, there have been 17 different nights where I haven’t slept. “When it happened, I suffered from stress and anxiety – but for me it’s got worse as I got older. “I’m pleased with the sentence handed down by the judge. When the jury returned their guilty verdicts, I felt vindicated.” He added: “As a child I loved him, I adored him. He was the best uncle we had by far.”