A YOUNG man who shot dead the father who had sexually abused him, his sisters and brother for years walked free from the Central Criminal Court yesterday after his five-year jail sentence was suspended.
Loud applause greeted the decision of Mr Justice Geoghegan to suspend the sentence imposed on James Hendrick jnr for the manslaughter of his father at their home in Co Wexford. Hendrick agreed to enter into his own bond of £100 to keep the peace and be of good behaviour for five years.
The judge said the years of sexual abuse suffered by Hendrick and his family had made the case "unique" and he was satisfied, from the evidence of neighbours, gardai and clergy, that Hendrick's action in shooting his father was "totally out of character". The jury had unanimously returned a manslaughter verdict and was "clearly right" in concluding something had snapped in Hendrick the night he shot his father.
He had come from a grim and unhappy home and the State had not contested the evidence that he and his sisters and brother were sexually abused.
In ordinary circumstances where a life was taken, the courts would have to impose a prison sentence, the judge said. He stressed it was not to be inferred from his decision to suspend sentence that a "tyrannical, sexually abusing father could be killed, but I do think the facts of the case and that of the abuse to the other children make it unique". The judge also indicated an important fact was Hendrick's fear that his father would try to abuse his sister's two young children in the future.
Hendrick smiled with relief when sentence was imposed while his sisters Margaret and Mary cried and their younger brother Patrick smiled. His elderly uncle Mr Patrick Campbell, who looked after and provided for the Hendrick children when their father had not, hugged Margaret and wiped away tears.
At the start of the three-day trial, Hendrick pleaded not guilty to the murder but admitted the manslaughter of his father James Hendrick snr (58), at their home at Ballinvegga, Rathgarogue, near New Ross, Co Wexford, on January 27th last year. The plea was rejected by the State.
The trial heard Hendrick had been sexually abused by his father from the age of four to 14 and his father had also sexually abused his two sisters and brother throughout their childhoods. He stopped abusing the girls when they reached the age when they could become pregnant.
Mr Hendrick snr never provided for his children. Their food, clothing and furniture were provided by Mr Campbell, who came to live with them. He was a brother of their mother Veronica who was sick with tuberculosis for most of their childhood and died when the accused was 10.
Ms Margaret Hendrick told the court their father was permanently drunk and had no emotional relationship with his children. She talked of seeking food from neighbours and said their uncle had looked after them and taken on the responsibilities of a father.
The jury of nine men and three women returned a unanimous verdict of not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter. Sentence was adjourned until yesterday.
In court yesterday, Mr Campbell said he went to live with the Hendrick family after his sister Veronica, their mother, became ill. He paid all the bills for the house and provided for the children and took them to school. Their father never did such things for them and the only furniture he bought for the house was his own bed and a table. His relationship with James Hendrick snr was one of "tolerance", Mr Campbell said.
He had never suspected the Hendrick children were being sexually abused by their father but he worked seven days and was often out of the house in the evenings. He agreed with Mr Patrick MacEntee SC, for Hendrick, that he had feelings of inadequacy about his failure to detect the abuse. Mr Campbell said James had worked with him up until last Friday and he would employ him again.
Supt Patrick Delaney said Hendrick was a hardworking, industrious young man who was highly regarded in the community. He had no criminal record and worked as a landscape gardener with his uncle.
The judge asked Supt Delaney why gardai had taken so long to get to the Hendrick home early on January 27th, 1996, after they received a phone call from Hendrick saying he was going to shoot his father and giving his name and address and details of his shotgun.
Supt Delaney said there was heavy snow that night and conditions were "atrocious". Gardai had set out in the patrol car but could not get up the hill out of New Ross. They had returned to get snow chains and had eventually made it to the house. He said it had taken "quite a long time" to get there.
Sgt Martin Slattery said he knew Hendrick for seven or eight years and was married to his first cousin. He described him as a decent, genuine and honest young man and a hard worker who was always willing to help others.
He was off duty on the morning of January 27th last year when Hendrick phoned the gardai in New Ross and had asked for him by name. The call was made shortly before Hendrick shot his father and, in a conversation with another garda, he said he was going to shoot him. Sgt Slattery he often thought about what might have happened if he had been in the station that morning.
He would have tried to talk Hendrick out of doing what he did. He was "stunned" when he heard Hendrick had shot his father. He knew he was never close to his father but had not known why.
Appealing for leniency, Mr MacEntee said the case was "absolutely unique". His client had endured degrading sexual abuse for years and then had to endure finding out that his father had also abused his two sisters and brother.
The judge told Mr MacEntee there were grim cases of sexual abuse and such abuse was "not that uncommon He said it was important that abuse victims should not get the idea that it would be "somehow acceptable" to kill the perpetrator. Life was sacred, he said.
Mr MacEntee said the case involved abuse across genders and threatened abuse across generations. He also asked the judge not to lose sight of the cruelty inflicted on Hendrick by his father.