A paedophile who went all over Cork city to carry out sex attacks on children as young as four years of age in the toilets of fast food outlets, public swimming pools and playing fields, was jailed for five years today.

Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin imposed a total sentence of seven years with the last two years suspended and ordered that James Lombard, 37, from the Blarney Street/ Sunday’s Well area of Cork, be put on the Sex Offenders Register for an indefinite period.

The sentence covered seven sex assaults on which he was found guilty by a jury and nine counts to which he pleaded guilty. Two of the victims were girls, 14 were boys, all aged between four and ten years when the assaults occurred in 1993 and 1994.

Judge Ó Donnabháin said: “You have paedophilic tendencies, you are an ongoing risk, your problems are unattended to, nothing that happened caused you to attend to you problems.“You are suffering from an active compunction which had you abusing and preying on young children, one of them as young as four and up to ten years of age.

“You went the length and breadth of this city preying on and taking advantage of young children where you could.”

Can you believe this? Isn't this just outrageous? This piece of scum targeted the most defenceless members of our society and rather than sending a tough message to vermin like this, our justice system gives out a five year sentence. I find that sickening. This man, and I use the term loosely, is lucky he doesn't live in a society in which crimes like this are punished with castration. I think this is a sad day for justice in this country. The scumbag should rot in jail for life.

# posted by United Irelander @ 6:24 PM