A 45-year-old Tipperary man who kidnapped and sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl nine years ago has been jailed for three years by Mr Justice Barry White.
Joseph Finnerty of Grove Villas, Roscrea, was convicted by a Central Criminal Court jury last month following a six-day trial.
He had pleaded not guilty to one charge of falsely imprisoning the now 23-year-old woman in a car on November 6th, 2000, and counts of aggravated sexual assault and sexual assault against her on the same date.
Mr Justice White had directed the jury to find the accused not guilty of aggravated sexual assault after medical evidence in the case concluded that the physical injuries the girls sustained were consistent with sexual assault but not with rape.
Mr Justice White rejected an application from defence counsel Mr Hugh Hartnett SC, to defer sending Finnerty to jail until after Christmas so he can spend the time with his elderly mother.
Sergeant Aidan Farrelly told the court that a victim impact statement prepared by a senior psychologist with the Health Service Executive concluded that the woman is suffering from chronic post traumatic stress which is both "serious and enduring".
Mr Justice White said it was clear to him that the offence had "a profound affect on the victim".
He noted that Finnerty's previous convictions demonstrated a "history of violence" but accepted that in the nine years since it took for the matter to come to trial he has not committed any similar crimes.
Mr Justice White accepted that Finnerty is the carer for his ill mother but noted that he also has a sister and partner who are willing to look after the woman.
He said that Finnerty had a right to fight his trial but said he was not entitled to the credit he could have got, had he admitted his guilt and prevented his victim from going through the ordeal of giving evidence and undergoing cross-examination.