> > VINCENT McKENNA CONVICTED OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE > ================================================= > > The founder, director and spokesperson of the Northern > Ireland Human Rights Bureau, Vincent McKenna, 37, was > convicted today of sexually abusing his daughter Sorcha over > a period of eight years, between 1985 and 1993. > > > He was named publicly following the court case today after > 18-year-old Sorcha waived her right to anonymity. The abuse > was said to have happened when the family lived in Monaghan. > > > A jury of seven men and five women found McKenna guilty of > the charges after two hours of deliberations, and following > a three-day trial in County Monaghan. > > > The accused was remanded in custody to a court sitting in > County Cavan in the Irish Republic on 21 November when he > will be sentenced. > > > McKenna was a leading spokesman for a number of years for > Families against Intimidation and Terror (FAIT), a British > Government-funded group for the victims of paramilitary > violence before it was wound up following in-fighting and > financial irregularities. > > > His claim of having been a "reformed IRA terrorist" was > disputed as fantasy by republican sources. However, the US > TV magazine news show, 60 Minutes, invited McKenna to > testify on their feature show about punishment beatings in > Northern Ireland. > > > Following the closure of FAIT, McKenna launched the one-man > Northern Ireland Human Rights Bureau, which international > media widely confused with the Northern Ireland Human Rights > Commission set up under the Good Friday Agreement. > > > Fr. Joe McVeigh of the Human Rights Center in Belfast said > he no doubt that McKenna's so called Human Rights Bureau > was "a contrived attempt to undermine the peace process". > "It exists solely to disparage Sinn Fein as a political > party and to take the focus away from the RUC and British > government abuse of human rights here. There is no doubt in > my mind that McKenna has undercut the work of the Human > Rights Commission and devalued the Good Friday Agreement," > said McVeigh. > > > Meanwhile, a senior Irish police officer, who had been > working on the case said that Garda officers were > "astounded" at the amount of publicity that Vincent McKenna > has generated and garnered for his personal crusade against > the IRA. > > > "One could have their suspicions about where this publicity > is being generated from and there are many directions you > could look for that," the officer said. "In this case, I > think we all know where this is being generated from and > directed from." > >
