Man (55) used six-year-old daughter for ‘own sexual gratification’, judge says

A Co Kildare man who “exploited” and used his six-year-old daughter for “his own sexual gratification” has been jailed for 10 years.

The 55-year-old was found guilty by a jury of two counts of oral rape of the girl at his home on dates unknown between June 6th, 2020 and January 17th, 2021. He was also found guilty of one count of inviting a child to engage in sexual touching during the same period.

The man, who cannot be named to protect his victim’s identity, denied all charges and does not accept the verdicts of a Central Criminal Court jury which sat in Tullamore earlier this year.

Imposing sentence on Monday, Mr Justice David Keane said the man had acted in an “opportunistic way” and used the victim for “his own sexual gratification”. This was a breach of the trust between a father and daughter, he said.

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He noted the victim’s youth and said the man “exploited” her in his home, which should have been a “place of safety” for the child. The judge also stated that the victim had been “profoundly harmed” by these offences, according to a victim impact statement prepared by her mother.

He imposed a 10 year sentence on both counts of oral rape and a sentence of seven years for the count of inviting a child to engage in sexual touching, all to run concurrently and backdated to March 24th last. He said he took into consideration the mitigation including the man’s health issues and his lack of similar previous convictions.

Mr Justice Keane noted that the man is classed as being at a low to moderate risk of re-offending and will be a registered sex offender. He ordered the man to undergo three years of supervision post-release and declined to suspend a portion of the sentence as the defendant does not accept the verdict of the jury, as it is “not possible to incentivise rehabilitation”.

‘Secret club’

An investigating garda told Róisín Lacey SC, prosecuting, that the girl and a sibling would go for overnight weekend visits to their father’s home. The offending came to light when the victim told her older half-sister and her mother that she was “in a secret club with Daddy”. Her mother then called the man, who started to cry.

When the victim asked “do you remember the secret club, Daddy?”, he called her “a liar” then pleaded with her mother not to do this as it would “destroy” him.

The young girl was interviewed by specialist gardaí and outlined two separate incidents during which oral rape occurred. She recalled another incident where the man asked her to perform an act but she refused.

Following his arrest, the man denied the allegations. The court heard the victim rejected a defence suggestion during the trial that her older half-sister made up the allegations because of a grudge against the man.

The defendant has no previous convictions in Ireland, but has nine from the UK, including four for burglary and theft, which date back to the early 1990s.

‘Devastating’

A victim impact statement from the victim’s mother was read to the court by Ms Lacey. The woman said it has been “devastating” to learn that her daughter had been abused and her world had “flipped upside down”. The woman said she feels she failed as a mother and her daughter’s lost innocence can never be replaced.

She said what has happened “can’t be put in a box and dealt with later”. “You have to learn to live with it. It’s the loneliest place in the world,” she said, adding that she is “left feeling isolated” and has trust issues.

Her daughter is “trying to understand what happened to her”, gets angry and frustrated and has started to have issues at school. The woman said she worries for her daughter and how this could affect her into the future.

Damian Colgan SC, for the defendant, said his client does not intend to return to Kildare on release. He asked the court to take into account that his client offered gardaí a level of co-operation and some concessions were made during the trial to shorten the process.