ROBERT MCLEAN DONEGAL MAN SENTENCED FOR HORRIFIC SEXUAL ABUSE OF YOUNG GIRL

In a case that has shocked the community of Donegal, Robert McLean, a 52-year-old man from Derryreel, Falcarragh, has been sentenced to a lengthy prison term after being convicted of multiple counts of sexual abuse and exploitation involving a young girl. The crimes spanned over a period of at least five years, during which McLean repeatedly assaulted the girl, beginning when she was just four years old.

McLean appeared before the Central Criminal Court, where Justice Paul McDermott handed down a sentence of eight years for the count of rape, along with seven years for each of the sexual assault charges. Additionally, he received a seven-year sentence for producing child sexual abuse images. All sentences are to run concurrently, meaning the total time served will be eight years.

The case took a significant turn when, on the day scheduled for his trial in April of this year, McLean entered a guilty plea. He admitted to sexually assaulting the girl in 2006, when she was only four years old. Furthermore, he confessed to six additional counts of sexual assault committed between March 2008 and August 2011, when the girl was aged between four and nine years old. He also pleaded guilty to producing child abuse images for the purpose of distribution, exportation, sale, or showing, on an unspecified date between August 2007 and August 2008.

The court was informed that a disturbing piece of evidence surfaced during an unrelated investigation. Authorities discovered a home video recorded by McLean on a camcorder, which contained footage of the sexual abuse of the young girl. The video was found in his house and was played in court, though the victim, now in her mid-teens, was present but chose to leave the courtroom when the judge began to play the video on his laptop, out of view of the audience.

The victim, who was between five and seven years old at the time of filming, has no memory of the event itself. The investigation was triggered in 2014 when the girl’s school principal expressed concern over her risk of self-harm and contacted her mother. It was during this inquiry that the girl, then aged 13, disclosed the repeated sexual abuse she had endured at the hands of McLean.

As part of his sentence, McLean has been registered as a sex offender. He will also be subject to five years of post-release supervision, during which he is prohibited from making any contact with the victim. The case has left a lasting impact on the community and highlights the importance of vigilance and intervention in protecting vulnerable children from abuse.