Man Guilty Of Manslaughter Of Man He Claimed Abused Him

A TEENAGER with intellectual difficulties has been found guilty of killing the pensioner he claimed sexually abused him when he was younger.

19-year-old Brendan McGovern, of Carrigallen, Leitrim, was on trial at the Central Criminal Court, charged with murdering John Golden (76) in Co Cavan on October 6th, 2010.

McGovern pleaded not guilty but admitted assaulting the pensioner in his home.

The jury found him not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter after two hours of deliberating.

During the five day trial, the court heard Mr Golden had been the subject of a Garda investigation during the 1990s when he admitted showing pornographic videos to teenage boys.

McGovern said he had gone to Mr Golden’s home to confront him about his continued taunts. However, he said Mr Golden presumed he had arrived for sex and handed him a condom and took off his trousers.

McGovern said this made him angry, that he put the condom on his fist and punched the pensioner in the rear before kicking and beating him.

The trial also heard from a clinical psychologist who said McGovern would have difficulties thinking through the consequences of his actions due to borderline intellectual functioning.

The prosecution had argued that even if the jury took the view that Mr Golden had interfered with McGovern, no person had the right to take the law into his own hands.

After the jury found him guilty of manslaughter, Mr Justice Paul Carney remanded McGovern on continuing bail for sentencing in October.

(H)