Posted by Galway area on red alert as paedophile moves back into same house he abused young girls in. A paedophile who was jailed for sexually abusing four young girls has sparked fury in his local village by moving back into the very home where he committed his vile crimes. Liam Brien, 54, committed a litany of horrendous sexual assaults on girls aged between five and 12 over a 10-year period at his home in Killimor, east Galway, between 1996 and 2006. The remorseless predator refused to apologise for his actions and was initially jailed for eight years, but had his sentence reduced to five years on appeal. Despite the horrific nature of his crimes, Brien has returned to his hometown after his release from prison and in recent weeks moved back into the same family home where he groomed and sexually abused the young children. Brien was convicted of 22 counts of sexually assaulting the young girls at the home between 1996 and 2006. Brien denied all the charges and forced the four young girls to go through the horrific experience of having to give evidence and be cross-examined in the intimidating setting of the court room. After listening to the harrowing testimony of the brave victims, the jury found him guilty of the 22 charges. During Brien’s five-day trial, Galway Circuit Court heard he groomed the girls by inviting them to play computer games and sexually assaulted them in turn while they sat on his lap in front of the computer. The victims told the court that he took their innocence from them and they were deeply upset that he refused to take responsibility for his actions. Judge Rory McCabe, sentencing Brien, said it had been a difficult journey on a long road for the girls. He noted that the offences took place at a time in their young lives when they could not have known what was going on was wrong. “Offences of this nature take years to come to the surface if at all,” he said. Judge McCabe imposed a two-year sentence in respect of one charge of sexual assault in relation to each victim, the sentences to run consecutively, bringing the total to eight years. Two-year, concurrent sentences were imposed on the remaining 18 charges. Brien was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register. Despite the legal process reaching its conclusion, the community in Killimor is now on high alert as Brien has returned to the scene of his crimes, raising serious concerns and anger among local residents who fear for the safety of children in the area.
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