A father who sexually abused his three daughters and a niece has been jailed for 10 years by Omagh Crown Court.
The 56-year-old man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his victims, was also put on the RUC's sex offenders' register for life. He pleaded guilty to a total of 24 charges, including two of rape, three of attempted rape, nine of indecent assault, gross indecency, attempted buggery and cruelty initially between 1970 and 1971 and then from September 1982 to October 1992.
The Omagh court, sitting in Belfast, heard that he had been caught abusing his niece by her mother who beat him with a brush but didn't report the matter to spare the grandparents.
Lord Justice McCollum told him that "outside your home you were an ordinary member of the public, but the facts of this case show that within the confines of your own family you were a monster to the young girls who happened to fall into the misfortune of being exposed to your offences". He added: "You relied on the innocence of these little girls and the fear you aroused in them to keep quiet". Lord Justice McCollum said the man had taken advantage of being given the "free run" of his brother's home to abuse his niece in her own bed. He added: "I have no doubt that all of their lives have been blighted by the loss of the innocence of their childhood."
Mr Eugene Grant QC, defending, said that the man, who has a mental age of 12, never set out to corrupt the vulnerable and the young and that he was "emotionally, socially and intellectually deprived". He added the man still loved his children and "admired" their courage in going to police to whom he expressed "considerable remorse".
Mr Grant added: "He told police - `I've been an absolutely despicable father and I will have to meet my maker some day'. "