A “committed long-term child abuser” has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for the rape and sexual abuse of four girls.
The Donegal man (67), who cannot be named to protect the identity of the four victims, pleaded guilty to six counts of rape, one count of attempted oral rape, nine counts of attempted rape, five counts of indecent assault and 29 counts of sexual assault in locations including the man’s house and car. The court heard the abuse took place on dates between 1982 and 2008.
The man pleaded guilty to six counts of rape, one count of attempted rape and five counts of indecent assault relating to the first victim, the man’s sister-in-law. She was aged between ten and 16 at the time of the offending, which occurred on dates between December 1982 and March 1988.
He further pleaded to eight counts of attempted rape, one count of attempted oral rape, and 14 counts of sexual assault in relation to the second victim, who was his niece and was aged between eight and 14 at the time, which was between March 2000 and 2005.
The man also pleaded to six counts of sexual assault in relation to the third victim, who is also a niece of the man and a sister of the second victim, on dates between March 2000 and December 2007. She was aged between seven and 14 at the time.
Finally, he pleaded to nine counts of sexual assault in relation to the fourth victim on dates between March 2000 and March 2008. The final victim was aged between six and 14. She is also a niece of the man, and a sister of the second and third complainants.
Imposing sentence at the Central Criminal Court today, Ms Justice Ellen Ring described the man as a “committed long-term child abuser” who “has been abusing children since the early 1980s”.
She said the aggravating factors included the young ages of the four victims, and the breach of trust involved. The judge said he “deceived” the victims, and in doing so “deceived their parents” and his own wife. She noted that the man sexually assaulted the fourth victim on occasions when his children were in the same room and in one incident, abused his sister-in-law while one of his children was in hospital.
Ms Justice Ring said the man was entitled to credit for his guilty pleas, which were entered on a trial date. However, she noted that the victims understood until that point that they would have to give evidence in court and this would have caused them further upset.
She handed him a total sentence of 20 years, with the final five years suspended on strict conditions, including that he place himself under the supervision of the Probation Service for 30 months post-release.
