Man to be sentenced for rape and sexual assault on sister

A man who raped and sexually assaulted his youngest sister will be sentenced next week.

Paul Mohan (42) of Grangegeeth, Collon, Co Meath and formerly of Westcourt, Drogehda, Co Louth, pleaded guilty to ten counts of raping his youngest sister on dates between 1996 and 2001. He also pleaded guilty to sexual assault of his sister, including one incident in 2004.

He worked previously as a photographer and has no previous convictions.

His sister, who waived her anonymity to allow her brother to be named, told the court how she had believed the abuse was normal as a child but as she became older realised it was wrong.

She described how her mental health suffered and she had lost much of her childhood. She said she felt damaged, dirty and worthless and struggled to tell her husband what had happened.

She described the distress of keeping the secret from her family and said telling her parents was the hardest thing she ever had to do. She said her family have been supportive and she can finally talk about what happened, now taking one day at a time and no longer carrying the pain, fear, sadness and shame that had weighed her down for the best part of 30 years.

The investigating garda told Philip Rahn SC, prosecuting, that the abuse began in 1990 with him touching her bum before progressing to him getting her to rub his penis on the outside of his clothes. She was about six at this time and her brother was six years older than her.

She said she was sexually assaulted a couple of times a week and kept a journal where she marked days where things happened. She estimated that she was abused hundreds of times.

The court heard the rapes occurred when she was aged approximately between 11 and 15 years old and the accused man was aged between 16 and 22 years old. A final incident of sexual assault occurred in 2004 when they were adults.

She made a statement of complaint to the gardaí­ in 2019.When gardaí made contact with Mohan he said that he had always known that he would be contacted by the gardaí­. He made some admissions in relation to the sexual assaults but did not think there had been sexual intercourse.

However, he said if his sister said it happened, he would believe her and told gardaí he was sorry.

The garda agreed with Bernard Condon SC, defending, that Mohan co-operated with the investigation, expressed sorrow and appeared to be remorseful.

Mr Condon read from a letter from Mohan apologising for the harm he had done and hoping his sister can move on. He acknowledged he had taken advantage of his sister when he should have been looking after her. He also apologised to his family.

He said the court had to take into account this had commenced when Mohan was 12 years old and may have had difficulty understanding right from wrong but now he was before the court as an adult.

He said it was unusual that he had taken a wrong turn so early in life but the court had the difficult task of assessing his level of maturity as he developed from a young child to an adult.

Counsel said that as a result of the disclosures Mohan’s employment has ended and he has become socially isolated. He said Mohan described himself as a functioning alcoholic but has and continues to work on himself. He said he was of previous good character.

Mr Condon said Mohan was prepared to undergo supervision and take part in the Safer Lives program. He was prepared to address his moderate risk of reoffending.

Mr Justice Paul McDermott remanded Mohan in custody and adjourned sentencing to March 1st next.