Man who sexually abused niece as a child jailed for two years

Sonya Mclean

A man who sexually abused his niece when she was a young child has been jailed for two years.

The court heard that the man would regularly get into bed with the child while naked and rub his body against her.

The now 63-year-old man had pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to a number of charges but was convicted by a jury, following a trial last year, on three charges of indecent assault.

The offences occurred on dates between February 1988 and December 1990 in the child’s grandmother’s home, where the man was also living. The girl was aged between five and six at the time, while the man was between 25 and 27 years old.

The woman’s victim impact statement was read into the record by the investigating garda during a previous sentence hearing earlier this month.

The woman stated that she had buried her story for over 30 years before she ultimately reported it to the gardaí. She said she ran away from home as a teenager and never understood until she grew older why she had done so.

“I never understood why I did it – I was a good kid that very bad things happened to,” the woman said before she described herself as a “sad child and an angry teenager”.

“I realise now that when I ran away from home I disconnected myself emotionally from my younger self,” she continued. She said she was angry with the adults in her life who she said should have protected her from the abuse.

The woman said reporting the abuse was “the hardest thing” she had done in her life and described the trial process as “an out-of-body experience and mental torture”.

She spoke of how the abused made eye contact with her during the trial which she said made her “physically sick”.

The woman said that her younger self should be proud of her adult self for sticking up for her. She said she knows that she is a strong person and believes she will continue to heal.

“I always knew right from wrong. I always felt that I was born into the wrong family,” the woman said before she added that she only ever trusted one man in her life – her now husband.

She said she finds it very uncomfortable that her uncle can listen to her evidence describing him as “the sick individual that committed these acts”.

“At least I know that I have done the right thing – maybe now I can stop running and find some inner peace,” the woman said before she thanked the gardaí who she said have always supported her and the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre.

Ms Justice Karen O’Connor spoke directly to the woman and thanked her for her “very eloquent and detailed report”.

“Thank you for the time and thought that has gone into it – it is very important to have an insight,” Ms Justice O’Connor said.

She said the woman referring to herself as a very sad child and angry teenager is “sadly” not the least bit uncommon in such cases.

The judge said teenagers don’t have the voice or even the understanding of what happened to them as a child and it is very common for them to become angry because they have no way of expressing the hurt that they are feeling.

She also thanked the woman for her description of her experience of the trial process.

Ms Justice O’Connor told the woman that her adult self should be proud of herself also. She said she has given her younger self a voice but she also has “done something that will be most helpful to little people who don’t have the voice to say anything that at this point”.

She said the case being reported in the media, which may be read or heard by a child, will help them to understand that they are not alone and that this (sexual abuse) happens to other people as well.

“Some people will find their voice and come forward and you will have helped with that process. You should be proud of what you have done to help other victims,” Ms Justice O’Connor said.

“I sincerely hope that you take any supports that are available to you – you have done the right thing by proceeding,” Ms Justice O’Connor said before adding that the woman had shown dignity throughout the process.

Sentencing the man on Monday, Ms Justice O’Connor said the man's behaviour represented “an enormous breach of trust between an adult uncle and his niece”.

She also said the age disparity between the man and the girl and the fact the offending took place in her grandmother's house, where she should have been safe, were also aggravating.

The judge noted the man does not accept the jury's verdicts and continues to maintain his innocence.

She took into account his long work history, lack of previous convictions and that he has not come to other garda attention in the last 35 years as mitigation.

The judge said the court was imposing sentence on “three specific counts of wrongdoing” and was of the view that a custodial sentence was necessary.

She noted that this offending is of a “non-penetrative manner”, adding that the court was “very accustomed” to sentencing in respect of offending which would “be of a penetrative and more egregious nature” than the offences for which the court must sentence this man.

She set a headline sentence of three years, which she reduced to two years, backdated to when the man went into custody.

She said there had been no expressions of remorse and, as such, there was no role for the Probation Service. The judge also noted the man will be on the sex offenders' register.

John Fitzgerald SC, prosecuting, told Justice O’Connor that the man is the victim’s uncle. The victim stayed most weekends in her grandmother’s home, where the accused man was still living at the time.

It was accepted that while the man always denied the charges he co-operated with the garda investigation and always abided by his bail conditions.

Garrett McCormack SC, defending, confirmed that his client continues to deny the charges and does not accept the verdict of the jury.

He accepted that the offences involve a breach of trust and that there was a significant disparity in age between the man and the child but counsel asked the court to accept that the offence itself was in the lower range of such offences which come before the Central Criminal Court.

“This does not diminish what (the victim) has said or take away from it (the abuse),” Mr McCormack said.

He noted that the man has lost his business, which has had a “devastating” impact on him and his employees have lost their jobs.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help. In the case of an emergency, always dial 999/112.