Mayo man jailed for 11.5 years for sexual abuse of five girls

A 61-year-old man from Ballina in County Mayo has been sentenced to 11 and a half years imprisonment for sexually abusing five girls over nearly two decades. David Langdon pleaded guilty at Castlebar Circuit Court to seven sample counts of sexual assault on children aged between five and 12 years during the period from April 1996 to July 2015. The offences came to the attention of gardaí in 2019 when the youngest victim, then still a minor, made a disclosure. Judge Sinéad McMullan noted the abuse frequently occurred during sleepovers when the children should have felt secure. The judge cited victim impact evidence describing severe ongoing trauma, including fear of darkness, sleep disturbance, and self-harm. She characterised the offences as representing a serious breach of trust. The headline sentence of 16 years was reduced to 12 and a half years, with the final 12 months suspended, and backdated to October 2024.