Man jailed in Cork for sexual assault

A restaurant owner (34) was today sentenced to six years in jail for a series of offences, including sexual assault and defilement of a teenage girl over a three-year period while she was working in his business.

Chun Ming Chen, an Irish citizen of Chinese origin, had pleaded guilty to a total of 25 sample charges relating to the sexual assault and defilement of the girl between November 2007 and August 2010 when she was aged between 14 and 17.

Today at the Central Criminal Court, sitting in Cork, Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy imposed a cumulative sentence totalling nine years for the offences but suspended the final three years on condition Chen be of good behaviour upon on his release.

Sgt Ciara Lee, who investigated the case, had told the court that Chen of Oakfield Close, Glanmire, Co Cork was running a Chinese restaurant, Ming’s in Glanmire,when the victim began working for him on a part-time basis while attending secondary school.

She said the offences occurred when the victim was being brought home by Chen or when travelling with him while making deliveries of hot food to houses in the area and that they began with Chen kissing her and touching inside her clothes.

The assaults escalated, and Chen began having sexual intercourse with her when she was aged 15 and 16, with the incidents occurring for a time on a weekly basis.

The complainant said in her victim impact statement, read to the court by her mother, of how her life had been changed by the abuse that she suffered at the hands of Chen, known locally as Jimmy, whom she indicated she would like to be named and identified publicly.

Imposing sentence, Mr Justice McCarthy said he was structuring the sentence in such a way as to recognise the escalation of Chen’s offending.

He said that he was imposing three separate sets of three years' sentence for each group of offences, each to run consecutive to the other but that he would suspend the final three year term in recognition of Chen’s guilty plea on condition that he be of good behaviour.

This suspension of the final three years would offer the community some protection against the risk of reoffending by Chen, a married father of three, Justice McCarthy said. The judge, who accepted Chen was contrite for his actions, had earlier declared he be registered as a sex offender.