‘Committed long-term child abuser’ jailed for 15 years

A “committed long-term child abuser” has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for the rape and sexual abuse of four girls.

The Donegal man (67), who cannot be named to protect the identity of the four victims, pleaded guilty to six counts of rape, one count of attempted oral rape, nine counts of attempted rape, five counts of indecent assault and 29 counts of sexual assault in locations including the man’s house and car. The court heard the abuse took place on dates between 1982 and 2008.

The man pleaded guilty to six counts of rape, one count of attempted rape and five counts of indecent assault relating to the first victim, the man’s sister-in-law. She was aged between 10 and 16 at the time of the offending, which occurred on dates between December 1982 and March 1988.

He further pleaded to eight counts of attempted rape, one count of attempted oral rape, and 14 counts of sexual assault in relation to the second victim, who was his niece and was aged between eight and 14 at the time, which was between March 2000 and 2005.

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The man also pleaded to six counts of sexual assault in relation to the third victim, who is also a niece of the man and a sister of the second victim, on dates between March 2000 and December 2007. She was aged between seven and 14 at the time.

Finally, he pleaded to nine counts of sexual assault in relation to the fourth victim on dates between March 2000 and March 2008. The final victim was aged between six and 14. She is also a niece of the man, and a sister of the second and third complainants.

Imposing sentence at the Central Criminal Court on Monday, Ms Justice Ellen Ring described the man as a “committed long-term child abuser” who “has been abusing children since the early 1980s”.

She said the aggravating factors included the young ages of the four victims, and the breach of trust involved. The judge said he “deceived” the victims, and in doing so “deceived their parents” and his own wife. She noted that the man sexually assaulted the fourth victim on occasions when his children were in the same room and in one incident abused his sister-in-law while one of his children was in hospital.

Ms Justice Ring said the man was entitled to credit for his guilty pleas, which were entered on a trial date. However, she noted that the victims understood until that point that they would have to give evidence in court and this would have caused them further upset.

She handed him a total sentence of 20 years, with the final five years suspended on strict conditions, including that he place himself under the supervision of the Probation Service for 30 months post-release.

A local garda told Shane Costelloe SC, prosecuting, that the offending took place on unknown dates between March 1982 and February 2008.

The court heard that the first victim met the accused when she was 11 years old and in fifth class. She was abused by him from December 1982 until March 1988. The accused would place her hand into his trousers, and he would touch her genital area. He also attempted to rape her.

The court heard that the accused raped the then-young girl, who described it as “being stabbed”. The accused told her not to tell anyone and said “you will enjoy this”.

The court heard that the man would tell the girl that she would “feel really good”, that “it would be special”, and that he would “give her a thrill”. The man abused the girl on one occasion when one of his own children was in hospital.

The abuse continued until the girl was in her Leaving Certificate year. In her victim impact statement, which she read to the court, she said: “I lived a horrible life. My body is filled with bruises from you holding me down to have sex with you.”

The woman said: “I was in constant pain from you trying to put your penis inside me.”

The second victim recalled the abuse starting when she was aged nine or 10. The court heard that the accused would show the girl pornography and touch her. When she began to develop pubic hair he got a razor and shaved it off.

In her victim impact statement the woman said to the accused: “You took away any feeling of safety. Nobody knew how dangerous you were. I spent my childhood worrying that I would be blamed and that it was my fault. I will have to deal with the consequences of what you did for the rest of my life.”

The third victim was abused by the man on dates between 2000 and 2004. The accused took her to the same derelict house as the second victim. In her victim impact statement the woman said, “as a child, I was confused and scared. I was told to keep a secret, I thought I was doing something wrong. I was scared that no one would believe me”, and “I fear for my children and that I will not be able to protect them”.

The fourth and final victim was sexually assaulted by the man from the age of five until she was 13 or 14. The woman said: “Every morning when I wake up I have to remind myself that you won’t hurt me today.” The woman then turned to the accused and said, “I hope you get what you deserve”.