Man jailed for imprisoning and assaulting teenager in Co Cavan ‘reign of terror’

A man who assisted in imprisoning and assaulting a teenager during a four day “reign of terror” in a Co Cavan house has been jailed for 2½ years.

The man (23) assaulted the victim with a wrench and a dumbbell during the incident, while his twin sister carved the numbers 666 into the victim’s forehead.

The main male accused (27) subjected the victim to the ordeal after forming the “irrational” view that the victim had “ratted” on him, based on the fact that the victim was not served a charge sheet upon his release from custody after being found in possession of drugs.

The Central Criminal Court heard that during the ordeal, the instigator stabbed the victim with a number of knives and cut a crescent shape into the victim’s face, which the court heard in certain circles bears the inference of a “rat scar”. The instigator also penetrated the victim with a sex toy.

Tracking device

The ordeal came to an end after material recorded during the events and uploaded to social media came to the attention of the victim’s friends and family and they were able to use a tracking device on his phone to locate him. They went to the property and helped the victim, who was 19 at the time, to escape.

None of the parties in the case can be named for legal reasons.

The instigator pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual assault, assault causing serious harm, false imprisonment, making threats to kill, assault causing harm and robbery, all at a location in Co Cavan between October 17th and 20th, 2019.

This man has a total of 26 previous convictions in this jurisdiction and in Northern Ireland, including for theft, possession of drugs for sale or supply, possession of knives and other articles and public order offences.

Mr Justice Michael White on Thursday sentenced him to 11 years imprisonment, but suspended the final two years on strict conditions including that he follow all directions of the Probation Service for two years post release.

The male twin pleaded guilty to false imprisonment and two counts of assault causing harm, while the female twin pleaded guilty to false imprisonment and assault causing harm, all offences occurring at the same location in Co Cavan during the same period.

The male twin has 11 previous convictions, including for assault, theft, criminal damage and public order offences. The female twin has no previous convictions.

The female twin was sentenced last May to four years imprisonment with the final three years and three months suspended.

Breach of trust

Passing sentence on Friday, Mr Justice White said the offences committed by the male twin constituted a breach of trust as he had been friends with the victim for over a year prior to the incident.

The judge said the offences were aggravated by their serious nature, the impact of the offending on the victim and the man’s previous conviction for assault. He said the man’s culpability is much less than that of the main male accused, but more serious than his twin sister.

He said there was no evidence he was under the influence of the main male accused to the extent that his sister was.

Mr Justice White sentenced the man to five years imprisonment, but suspended the final 2½ years of the sentence on strict conditions including that he undergo therapeutic intervention.