A 23-year-old man who buggered and sexually assaulted a 2 1/2-year-old son of a neighbour was sent to jail for six years by Trim Circuit Court yesterday.
The man had taken the child into the bathroom of his house and removed his clothing and sexually assaulted him. The second offence happened a few weeks later when the child again called to the man's house. The defendant offered him sweets and wrapped a T-shirt around the child's eyes before attempting to have oral sex with him.
The defendant pleaded guilty to the offences, which occurred in 1995 and 1996. He told gardai he has hepatitis B, contracted through unprotected sex. He was bisexual and most of his homosexual relationships were one night stands.
The child's mother said her son changed from being a very loving child to biting her, causing disruption and saying he wanted to die. She thought he had been possessed by the devil until he told her some of what had happened. He was operated on for an anal fissure and the surgeon said he had several fissures.
Judge Ray Groarke said no words could describe the horror of the offences. The accused's conduct was deviant and criminal and he took advantage of a position of trust. Although the accused had a multiplicity of problems, it was a most harrowing case. He imposed sentences totalling eight years but suspended the last two. He refused to set a review date and refused leave to appeal severity.