A Dublin man has been jailed for 17 years for what Mr Justice Carney described as "one of the worst cases of rape and sexual abuse in terms of gravity or depravity" ever dealt with by the Central Criminal Court. He had been told the victims' mother, now deceased, had been aware that her two daughters and son were being abused by her husband.
Det Sgt Bernard Sherry said the now 62-year-old father of three would bang the floor when he wanted one of his children to go upstairs to him for his sexual gratification. This would lead to fights among the children as to whose turn it was for abuse.
Det Sgt Sherry told Mr Paul O'Higgins SC, prosecuting, that the onetime computer analyst had subjected his family to 12 years of systematic abuse and domination.
The eldest daughter said she had been deeply affected by what she called her mother's "act of betrayal" by agreeing with their father to persuade her then 12-year-old sister that it was for her own good if he deflowered her. He had been having sex with her for some years before starting on her younger sister.
Their father pleaded guilty to 14 representative charges of rape, indecent assault and buggery between 1969 and 1981. He was extradited from England to face the charges.
Before the case started, defence counsel got permission to retire from the case from Mr Justice Carney, who instructed the defendant to sit in the front bench where counsel normally worked. He said he wasn't prepared to adjourn the case as one of the victims had travelled from Australia for the hearing.
The offences came to light in High Court proceedings in 1981 over a barring order. A boyfriend of the man's youngest daughter came to the house and became aware of what was happening and informed his parents. The barring order resulted from this action.
Det Sgt Sherry said the family had been subjected to a considerable level of physical abuse and the children had frequently to perform meaningless tasks such as cutting grass with a scissors. He said the man's youngest daughter, now 34, made a complaint to a constable in Perth in Western Australia. Her first recollection of being abused was when she was three years of age in 1969. She had been raped once or twice a week since she was 12. The second daughter, now 37, had also been repeatedly raped and the now 36-year-old son had been abused.
The younger daughter told the court she had grown up believing the world was unsafe. Her father would become violent to her mother or siblings if they said no.
She remembered telling the priest in confession what had happened. She thought the world would collapse because she "had told", but nothing was done. "I was just an object to meet his needs, instead of being loved for who I was," she said.
The woman said she feared continuously for the protection of her own daughter from people like her father. She didn't have faith in her ability to make wise decisions as a result of the many years of abuse she suffered.
"Making the decision to lodge the complaint with the police was one of the most difficult decisions of my life, but I am no longer a little child. I am a grown woman. I am no longer under his control. I have lived 18 years without him abusing me."
When asked by Mr Justice Carney if he had any questions, her father said: "No, I would only like to compliment my daughter on a superb statement. It took an awful lot of guts."
Her sister told the court she remembered how her mother had been beaten and crushed, mentally and physically. "I have spent a lot of time trying to rationalise what was done. Within the last few months my awareness of how the abuse affected me has grown. One of its main effects is that it made me feel voiceless. I still feel my opinion does not count. I am handicapped in this way."
Her father said it was "a very moving and heartfelt statement". He handed in a letter to Mr Justice Carney and said he wasn't going to call evidence on his own behalf or make any plea. "The document I gave you is all that is relevant," he said.