Northern Ireland

Judge slams 'extreme abuse of trust' as she jails Cliftonville player Jay Donnelly

Jay Donnelly leaves court after being released on bail pending appeal
Jay Donnelly leaves court after being released on bail pending appeal Jay Donnelly leaves court after being released on bail pending appeal

MEMBERS of footballer Jay Donnelly's family were in the public gallery at Belfast Magistrates' Court yesterday to hear the case outlined against him.

The Cliftonville player had pleaded guilty last November to distributing an indecent photo of a child on a date unknown between June and October 2016.

The intimate photo showed the then 21-year-old having sex with a 16-year-old girl while she wore his team shirt.

There were audible gasps as District Judge Amanda Henderson passed down a sentence of four months, and a number of female relatives ran from the courtroom sobbing.

Defence barrister Michael Chambers said Donnelly (23) was from a large, respectable family and that his mother and father were in court to support him.

However, he said that while they supported him they did not condone his conduct or regard it as appropriate.

He said: "One of his sisters is 14 years older than him and she has spoken with him in great length about his conduct.

"Football is the one thing he is interested in and he is acutely aware he has placed his future playing career in jeopardy."

The barrister argued that the sharing of the photograph was not a "malicious action" on the part of Donnelly but rather an "impetuous and stupid act" and that he didn't realise it was an offence to take the photograph.

He said that in an IQ test Donnelly scored between 72-81 which puts him in a borderline learning disability category, and in the bottom eight per cent of the population.

Mr Chambers said this was one possible reason why the player did not realise that by sharing the image with a friend and 10 fellow players on a WhatsApp social media group it was "going to get out".

The barrister said a probation report had shown that Donnelly was aware of the devastating impact the sharing of the image had had on the victim and that right from his first interview with police he had expressed his remorse for what he had put the girl and her family through.

"These images were sent and once they were sent they could never be taken back," he added.

"It was a foolish, ill-thought-out act of bravado... He has paid a very high price and will continue to pay a high price."

However, District Judge Amanda Henderson said Donnelly was five years older than the injured party at the time of the offence and that the photograph was of a "highly intimate nature".

She said: "The injured party immediately asked that this photo be deleted... but within the next day or two he had shared it with 11 people. It was an extreme abuse of trust.

"I have also seen the text messages that went on between the phones... and it did go viral."

The judge said she had taken into account that Donnelly was a young man who had no previous record, that he had shown remorse and that he was of previous good character, but she said the offence was "such a gross invasion of privacy" that it warranted a custodial sentence.

"It is completely unacceptable behaviour," she added.

The court had earlier heard from the prosecution counsel that despite the victim asking Donnelly to delete the picture before she left the property, she had started getting Facebook messages from strangers four months later.

The photo was also shared on Facebook, naming her and Donnelly, and adults had shouted abuse at her in the street, leaving her humiliated and distressed.

An NSPCC Northern Ireland spokeswoman said: "Sharing indecent images of a child is a serious offence, reflected in the custodial sentence imposed on Donnelly by the court.

"The children in images distributed in this way are victims of crime and the NSPCC is campaigning for more to be done to prevent adults from sharing such material on social media and for providers to do more to remove it from their platforms."

Cliftonville Football Club, which had dropped Donnelly from the team following his conviction last November, yesterday issued a statement saying the court judgement, as well as the outcome of the appeal, would be "given due consideration" by the club.

It added: "The club are mindful of their duties and responsibilities and will continue to act on this basis."