Dermot McElduff: Elderly client who groped therapist during clinic massage session denies sexual assault - Sunday World

[Patrick O’Connell & Andrew Phelan]

Pensioner who licked masseuse’s face says he pleaded guilty to assault to ‘get it over and done with’


Dermot McElduff (80) also threatened to sue for defamation any newspaper that claims differently.

Dublin District Court heard on Wednesday that McElduff “grossly abused” a massage therapist by groping her following a session at a Dublin clinic.

After the victim refused McElduff’s request to rub his groin, he licked her face and touched her bottom and breast, leaving her “traumatised”.

Judge Michele Finan told the accused to offer €5,000 as a “token of his remorse” to the victim and adjourned sentencing at Dublin District Court.

When we caught up with Mr McElduff a day later and asked whether there was anything he had to say for himself, McElduff said he had only pleaded guilty to “get it over and done with”.

“I don’t want to hear any more about it,” he told our reporter.

“I didn’t do anything inappropriately. I don’t want to hear any more.”

Mr McElduff then asked what paper our reporter was from.

When informed he was speaking with the Sunday World, and told the case had been reported in several newspapers, he responded: “I never saw the paper.

“If I was rude to you, I would say get lost but I didn’t touch anyone inappropriately.

“And I’m going to take a case for defamation against them.”

When it was put to Mr McElduff he had entered a guilty plea, he responded he had been advised to.

“To get it over and done with. That’s the only reason. Are you happy now?”

McElduff, a father-of-three from Gracepark Heights, Drumcondra, Dublin pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting the woman at a clinic in the city.

McElduff was told to offer €5,000 as a token of remorse to his victim


Detective Garda Sarah McArdle said the accused made an appointment to have a massage in May 2023. When he arrived, he was brought into a room by the victim.

In the course of the massage, he put his hand under the towel and “while the injured party could not see what he was doing, she was aware of what he was doing,” Det Garda McArdle said.

He made comments asking the victim to rub him “on his groin and that” and she explained she could not.

She left the room while he got his clothes back on and when she returned, he “touched her on the bum,” leaned in to kiss her and licked the side of her face.

McElduff also touched the victim’s left breast and all the contact was outside her clothes.

The accused had no previous convictions.

His guilty plea was “quite valuable” to the prosecution, defence solicitor Peter Connolly said.

The victim was working


McElduff had “a lot on his plate” with family commitments, the court heard.

He had worked for many years in the retail sector for “one of the big multiples” and had been quite successful before going into business on his own, Mr Connolly said.

He had not worked for 10 years now.

Judge Finan read a victim impact statement that was handed in and said it was “measured” and “speaks volumes to the court”.

“This woman is traumatised, she was trying to provide therapeutic intervention for your client who grossly abused her,” she told Mr Connolly.

She said the accused should offer “reasonable compensation” and asked the garda to explain to the victim that there was no obligation on her to accept money from the accused and that it was a “token of his remorse”.

“The court is horrified that this happened to her,” she said.

Mr Connolly said he did not anticipate that the compensation would be a problem.

Dermot McElduff was remanded on continuing bail to appear in court again in June.