Febuary 2012

Ex-councillor sentenced for child sex attack

A former SDLP councillor from Londonderry has been given a probation order after admitting two charges of sexual assault against a child.

The girl was 11 at the time of the attack.

The court was told that the offences came to the attention of police when the child’s mother told them her daughter had said that a family friend had touched her and made an inappropriate comment.

She told her mother he had kissed her, and felt her body over her clothing.

She also said that weeks earlier, he had kissed her on the cheeks and then the lips.

William McCorriston, 77, from Phillip Street, was also placed on the sex offenders register for five years.

He had previously admitted two counts of sexual assault on dates between 6 and 21 September, 2010.

The former councillor will also be subject to a sexual prevention order which bars him from any unsupervised contact with children aged under 18, including his own grandchildren, and loitering near anywhere where children frequent.