By Gordon Deegan

A 59-year-old ‘spiritual healer’ and Co. Galway farmer has walked free from court after receiving a fully suspended prison term for sexually assaulting a then 16-year old girl on an Aer Lingus transatlantic flight.

At Ennis Circuit Court, Judge Francis Comerford imposed a suspended 20-month prison term on Patrick Noone of Curragh, Kilconnell, Ballinasloe, Co. Galway for two counts of sexually assaulting an American teenager on the Boston-bound flight from Shannon airport on November 15, 2023.

Judge Comerford said that it was a case that has “already attracted some notoriety”.

The court heard that on the flight, Noone groped the teenager and kissed her arm after telling her “oh God I would shift you if I was 20 years younger”.

There is a 40-year age gap between the two and the teenager told the court in a victim impact statement that Noone told her that he was flying to Boston as he was on his way to New Hampshire "to heal a house".

Father of four daughters, Noone said that he had five or six whiskeys before getting on the flight and was on medication at the time.

Sentencing of farmer

In sentencing, Judge Comerford said that he was not taking into account a claim that Noone sustained an acquired brain injury from a kick to the head by a horse in October 2023.

The court heard that the sexual assault incident has resulted in the end of Noone’s marriage.

In the Probation Report, Noone said that he is living with the consequences of his actions on that flight every day.

In her victim impact statement, the teenager recalled the sexual assaults and said "in between brief naps, he would touch me inappropriately”. 

She said: “He said repugnant things to me as a 16-year-old including things like ‘if I were 20 years younger I would shift you and ‘I hope I didn’t make you wet'.”

Noone was allocated a window seat on the flight but sat in the middle seat in order to sit beside the teenager seated in the aisle seat.

The teenager’s mother, sister and grandmother were seated in the row across from her.

Counsel for the state, barrister Sarah Jane Comerford told the court that Noone told her that she was a beautiful girl and she didn’t know how beautiful she was.

The barrister (instructed by state solicitor for Clare, Aisling Casey) said that when Noone said that he would like to ‘shift’ her, the teenager didn’t know what the word ‘shift’ meant because she is American.

The barrister also said that Noone told the teenager that “you have the features or a real woman” and he moved his hand up and down her arm and kissed her hand.

The counsel for the state said that Noone told the teenager, ‘I wouldn’t want your mum or granny to see this - do you know what I mean?’

Sarah Jane Comerford said that Noone kissed the victim's arm, moved his hand to her thigh up and down and then stuffed his hand down the back of the seat grabbing her buttocks.

The teenager said that she gave Noone “gummy bears as a deliberate distraction so I could stop him from touching me”.

After the teenager alerted cabin crew, the captain was told of the incident and flew the aircraft back to Shannon where Noone was arrested.

Noone was brought by ambulance from the airport to University Hospital Limerick after complaining of chest pains.

The cost of the diverted flight amounted to over €28,000. 

Gardaí

When interviewed by gardaí, Noone said that he had no recollection of touching the teenager or saying those things to her.

At interview, Noone said that he was horrified and shocked at what he was then alleged to have done.

He said: “I am terribly sorry - I am always helping people."

Judge Comerford said that the injured party - who was not in court - had made an impressive victim impact statement.

In the statement, the woman said she felt trapped as the seatbelt lights were still on.

She said: “During the entire incident I felt entirely trapped - I was strapped down into a seat with a man who I did not know was touching me in places that I did not want him to touch me.

The teenager said: “In no world should it be accepted that anyone should put their hands on or near someone’s private regions without their explicit consent - never mind a man in his 50s putting his hands on a young girl of 16.

“That is an act that is - to put it simply - deeply perverse and incredibly violating."

Defence

Counsel for Noone, barrister Antoinette Simon said that her client has no previous conviction and cooperated with gardai.

Ms. Simon said that the incident was the catalyst for the breakdown in Noone’s marriage and he now lives in a log cabin on the farm in Galway.

The defence barrister said: “Mr. Noone is horrified that he did this to a young girl given the fact that he has four daughters from 21 to 10 years-of-age.

She said her client had never come before the courts “and is a man who lives in the spiritual world”.

The court heard that Noone is a spiritual healer and travels abroad to carry out his healing while he has guided tours on his farm connected to his spiritual healing.

Ms. Simon said that Noone has attended for counselling and is now facing divorce proceedings.

She added that her client spent 15 days in Castlerea prison for a breach of a court order this year.

Seriousness of assaults

In sentencing, Judge Comerford said that all sexual assaults are serious.

He said that the sexual assaults perpetrated by Noone on the teenager did fall into the lower range of offending as it was outside the clothing but it was serious as it was perpetrated on a 16-year-old.

Judge Comerford said that he was taking into account Noone’s guilty plea, having no previous convictions and cooperation with gardaí.

Judge Comerford said that due to the sexual assault offence on the teenager, Noone’s name will be registered on the Sex Offenders' Register.

The judge added that a Probation Service report on Noone concluded that he is at low risk of re-offending and he said that courts have shown that they are slow to imprison a first-time offender where the Probation Service has expressed a view that they are unlikely to re-offend.