A 42-year-old Cork man who sexually abused his own son and his former partner's two children has been jailed for 10 years by Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
The man, who can't be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault on his son between August 1st and December 31st, 1999.
He also admitted three counts of buggery and two of sexual assault on the young boy's then 10-year-old half brother between August 1st and December 31st, 1999, and one count of sexually assaulting his former partner's 17-year-old daughter between March 1st and March 31st, 1997.
Sgt Tom Moore told Ms Aileen Donnelly SC, prosecuting, that the mother of the three victims had five children from a previous relationship before she started living with the accused.
The first incident involved him sexually assaulting her daughter in their Cork home when her mother was in hospital giving birth to the couple's daughter in 1997. One of his partner's sons made a statement that in 1999, when he was 10, the accused dragged him into his bed and buggered him on a number of occasions.
He claimed his stepfather always whispered to him that he would kill him if he told anybody.
A son he had with the woman also made a statement to gardaí that in 1999 when he was just five the defendant often went into his bed and fondled his private parts. The boy also claimed he threatened to stab him with a knife if he told anybody.
The children first told their mother about the abuse on St Stephen's Day, 1999, but they initially agreed to keep it in the family.
The daughter, in particular, suffered traumatically as a result and the mother brought her three children to a Garda station in Cork in February 2001.
The man admitted sexually abusing the children but denied that he ever threatened them physically.