Mayo sex offender loses appeal against conviction but prison term reduced

A MAYO man jailed for offering a 13-year-old boy €50 for sex on a busy street has had his five-year prison sentence cut to 12 months on appeal.

Thomas Folliard (64), of Church Road, Aughamore, Ballyhaunis, had pleaded not guilty at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court to sexual exploitation of a child in a Mayo town in January 2016.

He was unanimously found guilty by a jury after over an hour of deliberations and sentenced to five years imprisonment by Judge Rory MacCabe last October.

Prior to sentencing last year, Judge MacCabe described the offence committed as "grave" and "despicable."

Evidence was given by the victim that the accused followed him from an urban shopping centre and propositioned him on a nearby street.

Folliard, who was charged under Section 3 of the Child Pornography and Trafficking Act 1998, had money in his hand.

He first asked the victim if he wanted to make some money and then offered him €50 for sex.

When the boy refused and began to move away, Folliard told him he was "a lovely lad".

In a victim impact statement read to the court, the victim, who cannot be named, said he had to get a lift home from school for some time after the incident as he was in fear.

He had also stopped engaging in sport and would cross the road if he saw anybody "suspicious" approaching.

Folliard lost his appeal against his conviction yesterday (Thursday) but the court of appeal in Dublin reduced his prison sentence by one fifth to 12 months.