A WOMAN WHO was raped by a 62-year-old equestrian coach when she was 14 has said that she refuses to allow his actions to rob her of her future.

William Connolly of Greenlands, Rathcoursey, Midleton, Co Cork was found guilty of three counts of rape, one count of oral rape, two counts of sexual assault and one count of exploitation of a child for the purpose of sexual activity last month.

A jury at the Central Criminal Court found Connolly – now 69 – guilty by unanimous verdict of the charges having deliberated for just under 12 hours.

They found him not guilty of one of the other counts of oral rape and of two counts of sexual assault.

The young woman said she had initially felt “sorry” for the man, until she heard him deny the allegations in court.

“I genuinely believed that Bill was a good man and he didn’t deserve what would happen to him if the news ever came out,” she said in her victim impact statement.

“I felt an overwhelming sense of guilt that I told his secret.”

“I believed there was no harm being done if the only harm being done was to me. I felt an overwhelming sense of guilt that I had told his secret.”

The woman said that she had felt sympathy for Connolly up until the first day of the trial.

I felt sorry that I was putting him through this. Putting his family through this…But when he went up on to the stand and I had to listen to him deny everything that we both know had happened. It was devastating for me.

The complainant said that she was horrified when Connolly accused her of “coming on to him.” She said that she “didn’t feel bad anymore” when he accused her of telling lies about him and engaging in fantasy.

Connolly had described the account of the victim as “fantasies” and “insane”. He also denied that he ever gave the now young woman alcohol when she was a minor.

The evidence was that the incidents occurred between August and December 2019 in a number of locations.

The offences came to light when the mother of the young girl found two texts on her daughter’s phone from sports coach.

They read: “If you are my baby you get everything. Only one catch. I want to own that [vagina] of yours. Agree and you get everything.”

Another read: “I want to poke – that is the deal.”

In a victim impact statement the injured party said that Connolly was her sports coach when she was a teenager.

“He groomed me and sexually assaulted me for a long time. I never saw it like that. I accepted that it was just the situation I was in.”

The young woman said that the matter was reported after she told a friend what had occurred. She said she was very grateful for her having such a good friend who opted not to listen to her when she asked her to keep it a secret.

“I honestly don’t know if I would have ever come forward if this hadn’t happened,” she said.

The young woman said she found the trial process extremely difficult, particularly as she found the defence “repeatedly questioned” her honesty.

She added: “They suggested I was lying…it felt humiliating and degrading. Each morning before trial I felt physically sick with anxiety.”

However, she said she “felt proud to be there standing up for myself” as she “realised how manipulated I was”.

“I saw him as a rapist and a man who abused me because he knew he had power over me,” she added.

The woman thanked her family and friends, gardai and her legal team for their help in relation to her case. She said that she doesn’t want what occurred to her to have an impact on her life going forward.

“I want to carry on with my life,” she said.

“I won’t let the trauma he has caused me overcome me and I won’t let him take away my future.

“By coming to court and telling my story I am standing not only for myself but for the victims whose cases never make it to trial. I am giving a voice to those who cannot speak for themselves.”

The court was told the sports coach can be named once the complainant is not identified.

Ms Justice Siobhan Lankford adjourned sentencing in the case until 13 February next to allow her to consider the matter.

Connolly has been in custody since December 19th, 2025 when he was convicted of the offence.