Mayo man (89) who was 'self-proclaimed pillar of society' to be sentenced for child sex abuse

Claire Henry

An 89-year-old Mayo man, a “self-proclaimed pillar of society”, will be sentenced next week for the historical sexual assault of a five-year-old child.

The Central Criminal Court heard that Pat Salmon (89) of Rockfield, Knock, Claremorris, Co Mayo pleaded guilty to five counts of sexual assault, on dates between January and June 1995.

The offence took place at his home. He has no previous convictions.

The injured party wished for Salmon to be named in the reporting of this case, but did not wish for their name to be published.

Salmon was 59 years old when the offence took place, and the injured party was five years of age.

The injured party said in her victim impact statement, “You taught me fear, and you also taught me how to hide it”. “You masqueraded as a normal person; you placed yourself in a self-proclaimed pillar of society. You were seen as a pillar in Knock, how could I go up against you?”

Detective Garda Paula Griffin told Fiona McGowan, BL, prosecuting, that Salmon's offending came to light when the injured party in this case told a sibling and their partner about the abuse.

The injured party then called a crisis helpline and disclosed the abuse. The Mayo Divisional Protective Services were contacted, and the injured party attended Claremorris Garda Station.

The court heard that when the injured party attended the garda station, she handed a letter to the gardai which she had received from Salmon. In the letter, Salmon outlined that he was “remorseful”. In the letter, he also said, “I deserve this, no home, no family, they hate me.”

In her statement to gardai, the injured party said Salmon was known to her and her family and was a “trusted” person.

She then described a number of incidents that occurred in the spring of 1995 when he brought her to the bathroom in his home, removed his clothing from the waist down, and made the five-year-old child masturbate him. The offending would last up to 10 minutes.

The court heard that on another occasion, “an unusual event” happened, and Salmon told the child that they were “going to try something different”. Salmon then placed his penis in the child’s mouth. The injured party told the gardaí that she was scared, but Salmon reassured her, “It would be ok”.

Det Gda Griffin said she spoke with Salmon in December 2024, and he was aware of the allegations made against him.

He immediately moved out of the area and has not returned since. Salmon was interviewed three times on two different dates.

During his first interview, he said, “As a religious man, I would say the devil took over for a period of time, a couple of months, and then it discontinued”.

Salmon denied the masturbation charges during all interviews, but during the first interview, he said the injured party held his penis.

A victim impact statement was read to the court, which said, “A five-year-old child should learn to tie their shoelaces and draw pictures that their family can stick to the fridge. They should believe in the tooth fairy and the Easter bunny”.

“It was only when I reached my teenage years that I realised what you had done. The trauma did not end when the abuse stopped.”

The injured party described that she “never felt worthy of being loved.”

She said, “There are no paedophiles in heaven. Finally, on October 23rd, I got to hear you plead guilty. You will get your comeuppance. May your punishment be as severe and impacts on you as your actions had on me.”

She finished by saying, “What you did will always be part of my story, but it will not define me. Your power over me has ended. Good riddance.”

Det Gda Griffin agreed with Conor McKenna, BL, defending, that she contacted Salmon on the day the injured party dropped the letter he had written into the garda station. She agreed that she had cautioned him over the phone and told him to speak with a solicitor.

The garda agreed with counsel that Salmon provided a voluntary statement to the gardaí, and a statement was also taken from a member of his family who had heard Salmon say that there was “truth to it” regarding the allegations.

Mr McKenna said his client has written a letter of apology in which he wishes to acknowledge the “hurt” he has caused and outlined that he has “deep regret and sorrow”.

Medical reports were also handed into the court, which outlined several medical conditions such as congestive heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Counsel said his client qualified in the UK in mental health nursing and worked with adults and children with learning disabilities. He moved to Ireland and became the director of a residential care unit in Galway.

In 1983, he moved to Knock in Co Mayo. He was a member of the Knock National School Board of Management and a volunteer with the Order of Malta for many years.

He asked the court to have regard to Salmon’s age of 89, and that he does not have much time left, his health difficulties, and that incarceration would be isolating for him. He also asked the court to take the early guilty plea and his good work life into consideration when sentencing.

Ms Justice Caroline Biggs adjourned the sentencing until Monday of next week so she could read all the materials handed into the court and consider her sentence. She highlighted the extraordinary victim impact statement read to the court and described it as “heartbreaking”.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help.