Vintage car dealer John Malone jailed for 12 years for raping 13-year-old girl in Galway
Vintage car dealer John Malone, 79, was convicted of 26 offences including 13 counts of rape after a trial at the Central Criminal Court in April 2026. He was found to have sexually abused and raped a girl, now 28, who was 13 at the time, over the summers of 2010 and 2011 in Galway. Malone, of Killadullisk, Killimor, Co Galway, had groomed the teenager with promises of money while her family was struggling financially, and the abuse escalated from kissing to oral rape and rape. The judge set a headline sentence of 15 years, reduced to 12 years, after the victim read a statement saying 'prison is not enough for people like you'.
- Reportednot reported
- Arrestednot reported
- Chargednot reported
- In courtnot reported
- Verdictnot reported
- Sentenced9 Jun
Key facts
consolidated from all reports- What happened
- John Malone, 79, ran a vintage car business in Galway and was 64 at the time of the offending.
- Malone groomed a 13-year-old girl with promises of money while her family was struggling financially, and the abuse escalated from kissing to oral rape and rape.
- The woman told gardaí the abuse occurred on a weekly or more frequent basis, and Malone gave her money ranging from €50 to €150.
- Where
- Malone is from Killadullisk, Killimor, Co Galway.
- When
- The abuse occurred during the summers of 2010 and 2011.
- Charges
- Malone was convicted of 26 offences, including 13 counts of rape, three counts of section 4 rape, three counts of attempted anal rape, and seven counts of sexual assault.
- In court
- The trial took place at the Central Criminal Court in April 2026.
- Sentence
- The judge set a headline sentence of 15 years, reduced to 12 years.
- Other details
- The victim, now 28, read a victim impact statement at sentencing saying 'prison is not enough for people like you'.
- Malone denied the charges and the defence submitted he does not accept the verdict.
20 statements extracted from the articles
- whatJohn Malone is 79 years old (irishtimes.com)
- whatMalone was 64 at the time of the offending (irishtimes.com)
- whatMalone ran a vintage car business in Galway (irishtimes.com)
- whatMalone groomed the child with the promise of large sums of money while aware her family was struggling financially (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe girl was 13 at the time of the first incident (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe offending began after Malone convinced the teenager to help him clean cars (irishtimes.com)
- whatIn the first incident Malone parked in a secluded area and kissed the girl (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe sexual assaults escalated to oral rape and later rape (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe woman told gardaí the abuse occurred on a weekly or more frequent basis (irishtimes.com)
- whatMalone gave the girl money ranging from €50 to €150 (irishtimes.com)
- whatShe was once paid €300 for working on the bog (irishtimes.com)
- whereMalone is from Killadullisk, Killimor, Co Galway (irishtimes.com)
- whenThe abuse occurred during the summers of 2010 and 2011 (irishtimes.com)
- chargeMalone was convicted of 26 offences (irishtimes.com)
- chargeHe was found guilty of 13 counts of rape (irishtimes.com)
- chargeHe was found guilty of three counts of section 4 rape (irishtimes.com)
- chargeHe was found guilty of three counts of attempted anal rape (irishtimes.com)
- chargeHe was found guilty of seven counts of sexual assault (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe trial took place at the Central Criminal Court in April 2026 (irishtimes.com)
- sentenceThe judge set a headline sentence of 15 years, reduced to 12 years (irishtimes.com)
The reporting
newest first- 9 Jun2026‘Prison is not enough for people like you’: Vintage car dealer who raped teen jailed
Sentencing hearing details including the victim impact statement, the judge's reasoning for reducing the headline sentence, mitigating and aggravating factors, and the defence's submission that Malone does not accept the verdict.
victim, 28, femaleconvicted, John Malone, 79, male, named, irish (judged from name)John Malone