A Donegal man has been jailed for 12 years after subjecting nine young victims to dozens of sexual crimes over a 17-year period.

Predator Neil Ferry put nine young victims - some who were as young as five years of age - through terrifying ordeals between 1981 and 1998.

Ferry, a 69-year-old of Ballyness, Falcarragh, was given a cumulative 15-year prison sentence with the final three years suspended.

Earlier this year, Ferry was found guilty on 34 charges by a jury after an 11-day trial at Letterkenny Circuit Court.

The jury found Ferry unanimously guilty on 18 counts of sexual assault, 10 of indecent assault, five of attempted indecent assault and one of attempted sexual assault.

Ferry was handed an effective life sentence after what Judge John Aylmer described as “sustained an systematic” offending over almost two decades at locations in Donegal.

Ferry stood with his hands clasped in the dock, showing no emotion, as Judge Aylmer passed judgement. Ferry used a Court Service-provided hearing device and the victims, supported by family members, were present in court as their abuser was locked up

Judge Aylmer said that the fact that there were so many children abused was a further aggravating factor as was the very young age of the children, who ranged in age from five to 16.

“More frequently, they were of primary school age at the time of the offending,” Judge Aylmer said.

The victims were still suffering from the effects of the offending and Judge Aylmer said that reading the various victim impact statements had been a “difficult task”.

The judge remarked that the scale of the impact on the victims was “harrowing”.

The brave victims asked that Ferry be identified while wishing to retain their right to anonymity.

Ferry pleaded not guilty when he was arraigned before Judge Aylmer and his barrister, Mr Colm Smyth SC, told the court that his client does not acknowledge the verdict of the jury.

Judge Aylmer said that there was little mitigation for the court to consider.

He said the fact that Ferry was without previous convictions and had a hard work ethic were of little use in mitigation as he was secretly carrying out the sexual abuse of children.

Ferry is currently being held in the medical wing of Mountjoy Prison and has been diagnosed with a life-limiting condition, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Judge Aylmer said the suspension of the final three years of the sentence was an attempt to try to give Ferry “some hope” that he could be released before the end of his natural life.

Ferry had pleaded not guilty to a total of 60 charges, with 25 of those later withdrawn by the prosecution while the jury was directed to acquit the man on another charge of indecent assault from 1978.

Details of his depraved offending were outlined by Detective Garda Eugene Organ to Barrister for the State, Fiona Crawford BL.

“You heard with clarity the way they gave their accounts,” Crawford had told the jury. “You heard clear memories, of a descriptive nature, and you heard how they described where they were positioned at the time.”

After being found guilty, Ferry exclaimed from the body of the court: “All the lies work. I must start telling lies.”

During the trial, one complainant, a female, recalled how she stood and prayed “that this would all stop”. The woman’s voice quivered as she recalled the incidents and she said: “I promised that I wouldn’t shed a tear for him” before continuing with her evidence.

Under cross-examination from Smyth, the woman said she was adamant with her recall of matters: “I remember as a child what happened to me. That memory will not go.”

Another complainant said that she was sexually assaulted “seven to 10 times, if not more” by Ferry.

One man gave harrowing details of incidents, including one where Ferry "tucked his ankles around my ankle" before sexually assaulting him when he placed his hand down his underpants.

A further complainant said she was 11 when Ferry came from behind her and grabbed her breasts.

“He was very creepy,” the woman told the jury. “He would say uncomfortable things…As a child, I didn’t like being around him.”

Another of the victims told the trial that she was “more developed” as a 10-year-old and Ferry would come from behind her and “brush against” her breast area.

Detective garda Darren Carter told how the defendant replied in an interview following his arrest: “I can’t believe my ears what I am hearing”.

Earlier in the trial, Smyth said that when the allegations were put to his client, Ferry responded: “I never touched any of them.”

One woman, who read her own victim impact statement, said she did not fully understand what was happening at the time, but she felt “uneasy, confused and afraid”.

“I felt powerless and unsafe,” she said. “I struggled, feeling fear, shame and embarrassment. I found it hard to trust others and it changed the way I saw myself and the world around me.”

She added: “I felt that something was broken so deep inside me that cannot heal. It is a pain so raw that I often wonder how life would be.”

Another victim said she wanted to tell her mother about the abuse, but couldn’t. “I have carried this with me for many years and it has stayed with me in adulthood,” she said.

One man said that Ferry had “taken away my childhood. He robbed me of my innocence and safety. I was constantly looking over my shoulder to see if he would appear.”

The man said he was in a “state of anxiety, frightened and vulnerable” and asked: “Why couldn’t Neil Ferry just tell the truth and say what he had done?”

While he said Ferry “has destroyed me”, the man added: “Now, it’s time to rebuild my life and move on.”

Another of the victims said that Ferry took away his innocence and the trial was “physically and emotionally unbearable.”

Others told how they were unable to trust others and were unable to tell their parents.

One woman said that she was in court “to speak for the little girl who was too afraid to speak all those years ago.”

“I was too scared, confused and hurt,” she said. “I endured pain that no little girl should have to go through. I lived in confusion and fear. I was too young to understand what happened. I felt trapped and powerless.”

She told how she “carried such a painful secret” for so long and that it “took all my strength” to sit in the same room as Ferry during the trial.

Another woman said that she has suffered a “profound long-term impact”.

“I feel that Neil Ferry’s actions cannot be overstated,” she said. “That little girl is still with me. . . I was the innocent child who was preyed upon. It left me with images that no child should have to carry.”

That victim added: “I can finally put my arms around that terrified little girl and tell her she doesn’t have to endure pain anymore; she will be protected.”

Another of Ferry’s victims said that her sense of safety and trust “changed immensely” after she was set upon by Ferry.

“I often prayed for protection from God,” she said, noting that Ferry was a “vile predator hiding in plain sight”, while a further victim said they were “made feel shame at a young age”.

Smyth said that his client, who has no previous convictions, fails to acknowledge the verdict of the jury and maintains his innocence.

Smyth told the court that Ferry has been diagnosed with a life-limiting illness, which has a life expectancy of three to five years after diagnosis.

Smyth asked the court to take his medical condition into account.

He said Ferry, if released from custody, would: “Come back to a community where he would suffer some isolation and shunning in that society.”

In passing judgement, Judge Aylmer said that the sentence would take into account “the grave nature of the offending, the many victims and the extended period of time” involved.

*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. In the case of an emergency, always dial 999/112. *