A banker at Goldman Sachs was fired last month after his bosses learned that he had pleaded guilty — several months earlier in February — to sexually assaulting his niece on multiple occasions over a period of years beginning in 2004.
Ronan O’Grady, 33, who had been working as a private wealth adviser at Goldman’s London-based offices since 2017, was sentenced to two years in prison late last month for sexually abusing his niece when she was six years of age and he was 13, according to Financial Times.
O’Grady pleaded guilty to eight counts of sexual assault.
His niece, Keely O’Grady, said her uncle touched her inappropriately, made her perform oral sex and showed her pornography, the Irish news outlet RTE reported.
On at least one occasion, Ronan O’Grady’s friend hid in a closet and recorded some of the assaults on his phone. The crimes took place in the girls’ grandparents’ home in Offaly, a county just west of the Irish capital of Dublin.
Ronan O’Grady, who had no prior convictions, was given a two-year sentence after the judge in the case took into account the fact that he was between the ages of 13 and 17 when he committed the assaults.
He entered his guilty plea in February and was sentenced last month. In the interim, however, he continued working at Goldman without informing his bosses of his legal troubles, according to the investment bank.
“Mr. O’Grady concealed these criminal proceedings from us until June 2024, despite being required to disclose them,” Goldman Sachs spokesperson Tony Fratto told The Post.
“His employment ended within days of us becoming aware.”
Fratto added that Goldman managers “were shocked to learn of Mr. O’Grady’s appalling past offenses” and that “he is no longer employed by the firm.”
“Our thoughts are with the victim.”
The crimes to which O’Grady pleaded guilty were committed between 2004 and 2008.
Keely O’Grady, 26, reached out to her uncle on social media when she turned 18 years old and confronted him about what he had done, according to RTE.
“I remember too. I hope you’re OK,” Ronan O’Grady wrote back to his niece, adding that he was “young and stupid” at the time.
Despite the social media messages to his niece, Ronan O’Grady maintained his innocence up until the start of his trial. He eventually pleaded guilty in February.
Keely O’Grady gave an impact statement in which she described suffering from depression, severe anxiety and suicidal thoughts as a result of the abuse.
