McMonagle pleaded guilty to 15 child sexual offences charges in September
Former Sinn Féin press officer Michael McMonagle, who pleaded guilty to 15 child sexual offences charges in September, has been sentenced to a total of 18 months, nine of which are to be spent in jail, on Friday morning at Derry Crown Court.
McMonagle’s case provoked controversy and the resignation of two Sinn Féin press officers from their jobs and the party after it emerged that they had provided him with references that helped him to get a position with the British Heart Foundation.
Sinn Féin was sharply criticised about what it knew about McMonagle’s conduct and when, especially when a photograph showed McMonagle, in his new heart charity role, standing just feet away from First Minister Michelle O’Neill in Stormont. During his first court appearance last year he was charged with three offences but a dozen more were added later, covering dates between May 2020 and August 2021. In all, he was accused of 13 counts of attempted sexual communication with a child.
The references given by his Mr Mag Uidhir and Mr McGinley had not “raised concerns about his suitability for employment or references the ongoing police investigation or suspension from his previous employment”, the BHF said in September.
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