Sex offender jailed for hugging and kissing heads of boys at McDonald’s restaurant

A convicted child sex abuser has been jailed for 3½ years for the sexual assault of six boys after he was observed hugging and rubbing their heads in a fast food outlet by a woman who became alarmed at his behaviour and contacted gardaí.

Daniel Connolly (46) from Cork had denied eight counts of sexually assaulting the boys on three separate dates in August and September 2023 at a McDonald’s outlet in Cork city.

However, the jury convicted him on all counts, seven unanimously and one by a majority verdict after a five-day trial.

At Cork Circuit Criminal Court on Thursday, Judge Helen Boyle sentenced Connolly to 4½ years in jail with the final 12 months suspended after she heard a recap of the case from Sgt Paul Cogan, formerly of the Cork city protective services unit.

Cogan told how gardaí were contacted by Galway psychotherapist Karen Martin, who had noticed Connolly with the boys when she had taken her nieces and nephews to the McDonald’s at about 6pm on September 23rd, 2023.

She told gardaí how she felt sick looking at the man with the boys around him and how he was constantly rubbing one boy’s head. She noticed how the man took the boys, aged between eight and 12, to the bathroom where they stayed for several minutes.

Gardaí obtained CCTV footage and identified the boys as coming from three different families. They later spoke to their mothers, who confirmed they had first met Connolly with another woman whom they knew and he invited them all to McDonald’s.

One mother said he used to call to the area where they lived and collect the boys after he bought them a football, telling them he was a sports coach.

Cogan said Connolly used to contact the boys on Snapchat and would make a round trip of 170km from his home in west Cork every Saturday for four weeks to meet the boys, who he also brought to a park on occasion.

Connolly had previous convictions from 2005 for the sexual assault and buggery of two boys aged 11 and 12 in 2002 and 2003; a conviction from 2012 for possession of child pornography; and a conviction in 2020 for failing to provide a proper address as a sex offender.

Defence counsel Ray Boland said he believed the offending fell into the lower range meriting a sentence of no jail time to 4½ years in jail as the sexual assault consisted of simply hugging, cuddling and patting and kissing the boys on their heads.

He acknowledged that his client did not accept the verdict of the jury and while he had previous convictions, the only previous conviction for sexual assault was from 2005 for offences in 2002 and 2003 which was more than two decades previously.

The judge said she had to take into account a number of aggravating factors, the most significant of which was the previous convictions for sexual assault and buggery of the two young boys.

There were no mitigating factors to consider as Connolly did not accept the verdicts of the jury and he had no remorse while there was also no evidence that he had any insight into his offending.