A Kerry woman who was jailed in 2023 for sexually abusing two young boys over 30 years ago has died in hospital.
Josephine McMahon, 70, died of a suspected heart attack in hospital yesterday – only a few days after being transferred there from the Dochas women’s prison in Dublin, reports the Irish Mirror.
Sources have confirmed that McMahon, who was jailed for two and a half years in 2023 for the “heinous” abuse of two boys in Co Kerry 30 years ago, was hospitalised over Christmas. It is understood she had been in poor health for some time and that she passed away in hospital on New Year’s Day. Had she not died, she would likely have been released from prison later this year.
McMahon’s case made headlines in June 2023 when she pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to two sample counts of sexually assaulting two brothers at an address in Kerry on dates between 1992 and 1996. The boys were aged between four and five and between eight and twelve, respectively, at the time of the abuse.
Sentencing her at the time, Ms Justice Karen O’Connor noted that the maximum sentence for the offence at the time was five years. She took into account a number of mitigating factors when sentencing McMahon, including the fact that her health had significantly deteriorated and she required dialysis in the months following her sentencing.
Ms Justice O’Connor paid tribute to the two complainants in the case, saying they had demonstrated “extraordinary courage and dignity” throughout the court process. She wished them well into the future. At a sentencing hearing earlier that month, Detective Garda Darragh McGuire told Thomas Rice BL, prosecuting, that the youngest complainant was sexually abused while McMahon was minding him. He was picking rhubarb in the garden when McMahon fell over, and the boy, then aged about four or five, laughed.
McMahon took him into a bathroom, produced a wooden spoon, and inserted the handle in his anus, the court heard. She told him: “You won’t laugh at me again”. She told him if he screamed, it would be worse for him. As an adult, the complainant told gardaí: “I still remember it to this day”. He said McMahon ran him a bath as he was bleeding in the wake of the assault and she repeatedly told him it was his own fault.
The court heard that from then on, McMahon started to undress around the boy and asked him if he wanted to touch her. She started going to the toilet in front of him. On the second occasion of sexual assault, she urinated in his bath and when he protested, she once again assaulted him with the wooden spoon. A third sexual assault of a similar nature occurred in one of the bedrooms, the court heard.
In his victim impact statement, which was read out in court by Det Gda McGuire, the complainant said he has suffered from “crippling depression and anxiety” as a result of the abuse he suffered. He said he struggled with addiction issues as a teenager and has had suicidal thoughts.
He said he is often triggered by things such as a smell, a word, or a thought. He said he blames himself for not being able to move on and has feelings of shame and guilt. It has impacted his relationship with his girlfriend. “I know I should feel grateful you pleaded guilty for sexually abusing me, but I am left with so many unanswered questions. Why me?… I will be forever scarred by what you put me through and I have to live with that.”
The second complainant, the older brother, was abused by McMahon on a number of occasions when he was aged between eight and twelve while he was visiting the same house. The court heard McMahon touched him inappropriately, often when they were passing each other in a narrow hallway. She exposed herself to him in the toilet and threatened him with the wooden spoon, although she did not sexually assault him with it.
In his victim impact statement, the second complainant said McMahon had engaged in “heinous” abuse and that she robbed him of his childhood and his sense of safety and security. He said the abuse has affected him and his family, as well as his marriage. He said he has “deep emotional scars”, struggles to express his feelings, and is “quick to temper if cornered or trapped”.
Addressing both complainants directly, Ms Justice O’Connor said they had nothing to be ashamed of. She commended them for coming forward, saying it took strength and courage. She said their disclosures of abuse could help other children to come forward about abuse. Michael Bowman SC, defending McMahon, handed in a short letter of apology from his client in which she stated: “I sincerely apologise to (the complainants) for what happened.” The court heard she has no previous convictions, lives an isolated life, and has a number of health issues – including diabetes and kidney disease.