Two sisters who were abused by a bus driver for more than two years have appealed to other victims to come forward.
Cathy and Caroline Brady went public with their horrific childhood abuse in Carndonagh to let others know how evil Leo McFarland had ruined their lives.
However the sisters said they also wanted to tell other possible victims abut how they are now successfully rebuilding their lives.
Their abuser was jailed for four and a half years on Friday at Donegal Circuit Court after pleading guilty to 11 sample charges of abusing the girls during ‘sweet games’ at his home between 1983 and 1987.
The court heard horrific details of how McFarland, a father of five daughters, would play games with the girls to trick them into abusing them.
Many of the attacks took place in the kitchen of his home in the Inishowen town of Carndonagh while his wife was out.
Leo McFarland was jailed for four and half years. Pic by Northwest Newspix.
McFarland, who was then 25, would tell the girls, who were just 5 and 7, that he had sweets in his pocket but when they put their hands in he had holes in his trousers and they would touch his penis.
On other occasions he would abuse the girls on his mini-bus while other girls sat down the back.
Speaking after the court case, Caroline said she had no doubt there were other victims who were too frightened to come forward.
But she said “I am hoping that anybody who has been abused will come forward. I have no doubt it happened to others.
“I will not pretend that it has not been difficult but we can now put this behind us. Anyone who has been abused by him (McFarland) can put this behind them too if they come forward.”
McFarland’s barrister Damien Crawford stressed during the court case that there was no evidence which suggested that there were any other victims or that his client would reoffend.
Both women told the court how their lives had changed and how they felt dirty as teenagers because they had been violated by their one-time neighbour on Convent Road in Carndonagh.
Cathy revealed how she had turned to drink to cope and developed anorexia which sent her weight plunging to just 6st Ibs.
Thankfully she has recovered, hasn’t touched a drink for more than five years and has two beautiful daughters with her loving partner.
Her sister Caroline said they were relieved that McFarland received astrong jail sentence.
McFarland, who was accompanied by two of his daughters to court, never
showed remorse and never apologised to his victims.
“We are so relieved that he has been jailed and we want to thank the Judge. We thought he might only get two years but four and a half years sends out a real message for all the hurt he has done to us and to our families.”
The women said they now plan to get on with rebuilding their lives now that their abuser has received his sentence.
“We have been waiting for this for more than 30 years and now the day has finally come. We are happy – one hundred per cent happy. We only ever wanted justice. We only ever wanted to be believed and now we have. We can try to move on now,” she said.
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