Paddy McCourt handed suspended sentence for Derry bar sex attack

Former Northern Ireland international footballer Paddy McCourt has been given a three-month suspended prison sentence for indecently assaulting a woman in a Londonderry bar.

The ex-Celtic and Derry City player had denied touching the woman during a night out in January 2022.

But he was found guilty after a two-day trial last May.

The 39-year-old father of three, who lives in Muff village in County Donegal, was accused of reaching under the victim's skirt and touching her thong.

McCourt told his trial that he believed the woman when she said she had been sexually assaulted "but it was not by me".

The assault happened in a Waterloo Street pub while the former footballer was drinking with friends.

During the trial it emerged that several DNA samples from a number of men were found on the victim’s dress and thong - but Paddy McCourt’s DNA was not among them.

Judge Ted Magill, however, dismissed the 39-year old’s claim that another man in the bar should have been regarded as a suspect and that police investigation was flawed.

On at Bishop Street Courthouse, Judge Magill stated that CCTV footage from the bar showed Paddy McCourt was “quite drunk, but drunkenness is no excuse".

The judge said the assault was “clearly a moment of madness… but women and girls on a night out need to be free of the fear of anyone putting their hands on them".

He sentenced the footballer to three months in jail suspended for two years, and ordered him to be placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register for five years.

A defence barrister said Paddy McCourt does not accept his guilt, and indicated that the conviction would be appealed.

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