Sunday 1 November 2026Compiled from published reports. Every claim links to its source.

Ireland Crime

Every case followed from the first report to the sentence, or to where the reporting stopped.

Case No. 22572Defilement of a child under 17 (sexual offence) · Co. Donegal · 23 Dec 2011

Ballintra man jailed for defiling teenage girl in 2011

Richard Walsh, 29, of Lisminton, Ballintra, was sentenced to 20 months' imprisonment (eight months suspended) at Letterkenny Circuit Court for the defilement of Delaney Leece, who was 15 at the time, on 23 December 2011. The victim, who waived her anonymity, described enduring 'a decade of suffering' since the attack.

  1. Reportednot reported
  2. Arrestednot reported
  3. Chargednot reported
  4. In courtnot reported
  5. Verdictnot reported
  6. Sentenced1 Feb
reportedhappened, not reportedlatest stagenot yet

Key facts

consolidated from all reports
17 statements extracted from the articles
  • whatThe incident occurred when the victim was getting ready for a teenage disco (donegallive.ie)
  • whatThe accused plied the victim with alcohol, white wine (donegallive.ie)
  • whenThe incident occurred on 23 December 2011 (donegallive.ie)
  • chargeWalsh pleaded guilty to one count of defilement of a child under 17 years of age under section 3(1) of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2006 (donegallive.ie)
  • courtHe appeared at Letterkenny Circuit Court (donegallive.ie)
  • sentenceWalsh was handed a 20-month prison sentence, the last eight months of which was suspended (donegallive.ie)
  • sentenceHe will serve 12 months behind bars and be placed on the sex offender's register (donegallive.ie)
  • sentenceThe offence carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison (donegallive.ie)
  • sentenceBefore mitigation, the judge considered the offence merited a sentence of two-and-a-half years (donegallive.ie)
  • sentenceThe final eight months were suspended on a bond of €100 to keep the peace and be of good behaviour for 12 months (donegallive.ie)
  • otherWalsh is a married father-of-two (donegallive.ie)
  • otherThe victim was aged 15 years and four months at the time of the incident (donegallive.ie)
  • otherWalsh had just turned 18 at the time of the incident (donegallive.ie)
  • otherThe offence caused the victim to suffer OCD, PTSD, anxiety and depression for many years (donegallive.ie)
  • otherWalsh was fully co-operative, has no previous convictions and has not come to adverse Garda attention since the offence (donegallive.ie)
  • otherFour character references were submitted on behalf of Walsh (donegallive.ie)
  • otherThe Probation Service considered Walsh at low risk of reoffending (donegallive.ie)

The reporting

newest first
  1. 1 Feb2023
    Sentenceddonegallive.ie, first report
    Ballintra man jailed for defiling teenage girl

    Reports the sentencing of Richard Walsh for the 2011 defilement of Delaney Leece, a separate incident from his 2020 sexual assault case (case 4602). The victim waived anonymity and gave a lengthy victim impact statement.

    victim, Delaney Leece, 15, female, irish (judged from name)Delaney Leececonvicted, Richard Walsh, 29, male, named, irish (judged from name)Richard Walsh