Rape victim sisters awarded €1.2m damages

TWO SISTERS who sued a neighbour after he raped and sexually assaulted them while they babysat his children when they were teenagers have been awarded almost €1.2 million damages at the High Court.

The circumstances of the case warranted an award of aggravated and punitive damages to the women, who were "stunningly brave", Mr Justice Vivian Lavan said. He awarded some €596,000 each to both women, including €50,000 aggravated damages each.

The man involved, who cannot be named to protect the women's identity, was convicted and sentenced to 13 years' imprisonment in December 2003 on charges of rape and sexual assault of the sisters, who were 11 and 12 years of age at the time.

The court was told that a figure of more than €200,000 had been lodged in court by the defendant at the start of the case and the judge ordered that €100,000 be paid out to each of the plaintiffs.

Mr Justice Lavan told the two women they had had a terrible time and he hoped the judgment would give each of them the closure which they deserved. He also wished them every success for the rest of their lives.

The judge said there had been a very limited defence in the case. While there was no formal admission of liability, it had been indicated by the defendant's side they only proposed to question the plaintiffs about the issue of loss of earnings.

During the hearing of the case, Edward Walsh SC, for the sisters, had asked the judge to award substantial damages to show there was "a day of reckoning for paedophiles".

Mr Walsh said "a war of attrition and intimidation" had been waged by the man's family against the two women and the local community had been riven asunder. Ten years later, the man still intended not to formally admit liability, he said.

If the defendant was a man with any human dignity, he would have apologised profusely but instead he "brazened it out" and put the women through more trauma in the civil proceedings, Mr Walsh said. He was "a sick man" who "visited his evil" on the women and caused them enormous distress.

In their action against the man, the women had claimed damages, including aggravated damages, arising from the assaults on them.

In his decision, Mr Justice Lavan said he accepted in full the evidence given by the two women. This was a distressful and harrowing case for them, he added.

He accepted the women were harassed and intimidated from the time the matters were first reported to the gardaí. This had continued through the first aborted trial and the second trial and up to January 31st last when the case opened. The judge noted the defendant and his wife had caused to be brought into court seven adults from their home locality to face one sister when she was giving evidence. This caused the woman great distress, was "undesirable and unwise" and was a clear attempt to intimidate her from giving evidence, he said.

As a result, the woman had broken down in the witness box, the judge added. After the court had adjourned to allow time for her to compose herself, the seven persons concerned had left the court and remained outside for the remainder of the day.

After yesterday's judgment, lawyers for the two women issued a statement on behalf of their clients saying that by their "courageous actions", the women were instrumental in removing a dangerous paedophile from the streets of their town.