Woman was raped by coach when she was 14 and he was 62, court hears

Olivia Kelleher

A woman who was raped by a 62-year-old sports coach when she was 14 years old has said that she refuses to allow his actions to rob her of her future.

William Connolly of Greenlands, Rathcoursey, Midleton, Co Cork, was found guilty of three counts of rape, one count of oral rape, two counts of sexual assault and one count of exploitation of a child for the purpose of sexual activity in December of last year.

A jury at the Central Criminal Court in Cork found the now 69-year-old guilty by unanimous verdict of the charges, having deliberated for just under 12 hours.

They found him not guilty of one of the other counts of oral rape and of two counts of sexual assault.

Mr Connolly had described the account of the victim as “fantasies” and “insane.” He also denied that he ever gave the now young woman alcohol when she was a minor.

The evidence was that the incidents occurred between August and December 2019 in a number of locations.

The offences came to light when the mother of the young girl found two texts on her daughter's phone from the then 62 year old sports coach.

They read: "If you are my baby you get everything. Only one catch. I want to own that (vagina) of yours. Agree and you get everything."

Another read: "I want to poke - that is the deal."

In a victim impact statement the injured party said that Mr Connolly was her sports coach when she was a teenager.

“He groomed me and sexually assaulted me for a long time. I never saw it like that. I accepted that it was just the situation I was in.”

The young woman said that the matter was reported after she told a friend what had occurred. She said she was very grateful for her having such a good friend who opted not to listen to her when she asked her to keep it a secret.

“I honestly don’t know if I would have ever come forward if this hadn’t happened.

"I genuinely believed that Bill was a good man and he didn't deserve what would happen to him if the news ever came out. I felt an overwhelming sense of guilt that I told his secret.

I believed there was no harm being done if the only harm being done was to me. I felt an overwhelming sense of guilt that I had told his secret.”

The woman said that she had felt sympathy for Mr Connolly up until the first day of the trial.

“I felt sorry that I was putting him through this. Putting his family through this. But when he went up on to the stand and I had to listen to him deny everything that we both know had happened. It was devastating for me.”

The complainant said that she was horrified when Mr Connolly accused her of “coming on to him.” She said that she “didn’t feel bad anymore” when he accused her of telling lies about him and engaging in fantasy.

She said she found the trial process extremely difficult.

"The defence repeatedly questioned my honesty. They suggested I was lying...it felt humiliating and degrading. Each morning before trial I felt physically sick with anxiety."

(But) I felt proud to be there standing up for myself and I realised how manipulated I was. I saw him as a rapist and a man who abused me because he knew he had power over me."

The woman thanked her family and friends, gardai and her legal team for their help in relation to her case. She said that she doesn’t want what occurred to her to have an impact on her life going forward.

" I want to carry on with my life. I want to get a good job. I won’t let the trauma he has caused me overcome me and I won’t let him take away my future.

"By coming to court and telling my story I am standing not only for myself but for the victims whose cases never make it to trial. I am giving a voice to those who cannot speak for themselves.

The court was told the sports coach can be named once the complainant is not identified.

Ms Justice Siobhan Lankford adjourned sentencing in the case until February 13th next to allow her to consider the matter.

Mr Connolly has been in custody since December 19th, 2025 when he was convicted of the offence.

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.