Thomas McKenna appeared to be a respected stalwart of the community — club treasurer, a postman and a director of the local credit union. But for three decades he preyed on young victims — quite simply, he was hidden in plain sight
AT LAGANSIDE Crown Court in Belfast on Friday, April 21, club treasurer for Crossmaglen Rangers GAA club Thomas McKenna (62), was sentenced to 16 years in prison on sex abuse charges. He was found guilty of 162 offences against 23 male victims, some of whom were young teenagers.
McKenna will serve another seven years on licence for sex abuse crimes. He will also be placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register indefinitely.
Detective Chief Inspector Kerry Brennan of the PSNI said: “Thomas McKenna was a respected and influential member of the Crossmaglen community, who used his positions of trust to gain access to young males to carry out the litany of abuse as outlined in court today.”
The PSNI officer added: “He has caused long-lasting psychological damage to his victims and their families and I’ve no doubt that learning of the severity of his offending today will ricochet through the Crossmaglen community.
“Predators of this type are incredibly manipulative, and invest a lot of time building trust and embedding themselves within communities to carry out their offending under the radar. Hidden in plain sight.”
McKenna’s campaign spanned three decades and took place at various places in Crossmaglen, Co. Armagh, including at the local GAA club. Some of the offences took place across the border in the Republic. The locations of the crime sites included hotels when McKenna was travelling with the club, as well as in pubs and toilets.
The court heard that the crimes were committed over three decades from 1988 until August of 2018 when McKenna was arrested.
McKenna admitted to sexual assault, indecent assault, voyeurism, and taking an indecent image of a child.
Following his arrest in 2018, the High Court in Belfast heard that police had discovered than 50,000 photos and video clips stored on McKenna's recording devices.
Judge Patricia Smyth told the defendant he had preyed on both the victims and their families. She added that she found his attitude to his victims "chilling".
The victims were aged between 14 and 39, but the bulk of them were in their mid-teens at the time.
Judge Smyth accepted that McKenna had pleaded guilty, thus sparing victims the trauma of appearing in court to outline the abuse they had suffered. But she added that the defendant only admitted many of the more serious offences a week before the first trial was due to begin.
It was also pointed out to the court that McKenna had pleaded his innocence when first arrested by the PSNI. He accused his victims of lying in order to discredit him.
She said: "Every aspect of your defence was an attempt to continue the psychological power games you had played for years,"
Victims of McKenna’s abuse released an emotional joint statement following last week’s sentencing hearing, saying they were proud of the strength, dignity, and unity they have displayed throughout the process to get the justice they deserve.
The victims also thanked the judge for the sentence, and their families and the Crossmaglen Rangers community for their support. The statement included the words: “We want to thank the Police Service for the empathy and swiftness in which they dealt with the crimes committed against us from when they were first informed almost five years ago.
“In addition, we also wish to thank the Public Prosecution Service and the prosecution team for their professionalism and diligence in preparing the case for Court and ensuring we received the guilty pleas for the litany of crimes committed against us when we were children. And most importantly, to ensure this individual will never be a part of our community again.”
Eamonn McMahon, from Crossmaglen Rangers, said the conviction was only possible because of the courage of the victims. Speaking outside the court he said: "As a club and as an association, our hearts were broken when we learned about the horrific abuse suffered by children and young people within our community.
"To the victims, we are deeply sorry."
Mr McMahon added the GAA would launch an independent review to examine the abuse.
