A 59-year old “spiritual healer” and Co Galway farmer received a fully suspended prison term for sexually assaulting a then 16-year-old girl on an Aer Lingus transatlantic flight.At Ennis Circuit Court on Friday, Judge Francis Comerford imposed a suspended 20-month prison term on Patrick Noone of Kilconnell, Ballinasloe, Co Galway for two counts of sexually assaulting an American teenager on the Boston bound flight from Shannon airport on November 15th, 2023.The court heard that Noone groped the teenager and kissed her arm and told her, “Oh God, I would shift you if I was 20 years younger”.The teenager told the court in a victim impact statement that Noone said he was on his way to New Hampshire “to heal a house”.A father of four daughters, Noone said he had five or six whiskeys before getting on the flight and was on medication at the time.The court heard that the assault has resulted in the end of Noone’s marriage. In a probation report, Noone said he is living with the consequences of his actions every day.In her victim impact statement, the teenager recalled the sexual assaults. She said “in between brief naps, he would touch me inappropriately”, and that “he said repugnant things to me”. Noone was allocated a window seat on the flight, but sat in the middle to be beside the teenager. The teenager’s mother, sister and grandmother were seated in the row across from her.Counsel for the State Sarah Jane Comerford said when Noone said he would like to “shift” her the teenager didn’t know what the word meant because she is American.Comerford said that Noone told the teenager, “I wouldn’t want your Mum or Granny to see this – do you know what I mean?”Noone kissed her arm, moved his hand to her thigh and then stuffed his hand down the back of the seat, grabbing her buttocks.The teenager said she gave Noone “gummy bears as a deliberate distraction so I could stop him from touching me”.After the teenager alerted cabin crew, the captain was told of the incident and flew the aircraft back to Shannon where Noone was arrested.The accused was brought by ambulance from the airport to University Hospital Limerick after complaining of chest pains. The cost of the diverted flight amounted to more than €28,000. Noone, when questioned by gardaí, said he was horrified and shocked at what he was alleged to have done, and of which he had no recollection.In her victim impact statement the young woman said she felt trapped during the incident as the seat belt lights were still on.She said: “I never felt more violated, nor more afraid. I can only assume that had I stayed he would have gone further.” The teenager said: “In no world should it be accepted that anyone should put their hands on or near someone’s private regions without their explicit consent – never mind a man in his fifties putting his hands on a young girl of 16.“That is an act that is – to put it simply – deeply perverse and incredibly violating.”Counsel for Noone, Antoinette Simon said her client has no previous conviction and co-operated with gardaí.Simon said Noone is a spiritual healer and travels abroad to carry out his healing while he has guided tours on his farm connected to his spiritual healing.Simon said Noone has attended for counselling and is now facing divorce proceedings. He spent 15 days in Castlerea Prison for a breach of a court order this year.The judge said that the sexual assaults perpetrated by Noone on the teenager did fall into the lower range of offending as it was outside the clothing but it was serious as it was perpetrated on a 16 year old.In sentencing, the judge said he was not taking into account a claim that Noone sustained an acquired brain injury from a kick to the head by a horse in October 2023.A Probation Service report on Noone concluded that he is at low risk of reoffending.Noone’s name will be registered on the sex offenders’ register.