A MAN who abused a young girl in the county is back living in County Donegal.
Anthony Kearns, who is now 53, and who used to live in Bruckless, is now living in Letterkenny.
In June 2010 he was handed a three-year jail sentence for the offences, with 18 months suspended.
Kearns, originally from Shrewsbury, England, had pleaded guilty to eight sample charges of sexual assault between June 2005 and December 2007 when the girl was aged between 12 and 14.
The former garden business owner and father-of-five, was also placed on the register of sex offenders for 10 years. That is due to expire in 2020.
His brave victim asked that Kearns be named at the time.
The court was told that the offences started when Kearns was drinking after he split from his wife when he discovered she had an affair with his father.
Kearns told the court that when he discovered the affair between his father and his wife he “was a broken man, both physically and mentally”.
“I am terribly sorry for what I did. It is inexcusable,” he said.
His young victim eventually told her family and some neighbours about the offences against her. As a result of the abuse, the teenage victim no longer trusted older men and at one stage had considered suicide, the court heard at the time.
It’s understood Kearns went to England after his release from prison but has now returned to County Donegal.
“I was surprised to see him one evening playing snooker,” said one local man who recognised him.
“I knew what he had done. I didn’t expect to see him back in Donegal.”
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