Man (35) jailed for sexual abuse and rape of his niece (10)

By Eimear Dodd

A man who sexually abused and raped his 10-year-old niece when he was babysitting her has been jailed for 11 years.

The 35-year-old was convicted following a Central Criminal Court trial in May of two counts of rape, 10 sample counts of sexual assault and one count of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child.

The court heard that the girl was aged between 10 and 11 when the offending took place between May 2019 and April 2021 at her family home in Dublin.

The man can’t be identified to protect the girl’s right to anonymity. He has no previous convictions.

He is the girl’s uncle and would occasionally stay with the family. Evidence was heard that the offending took place when the girl’s parents were out and the man was in loco parentis.

In a victim impact statement read to the court by the investigating garda, the girl said the man used her age, innocence and trust against her.

“I refuse to call you family, because family does not do what you did to me. Family does not look at a child and decide to destroy them; you did.”

She said she was 10 and “still learning what the world was and who I am”. She said he chose to ignore her fear and to continue.

“You chose yourself over a child’s safety, let that be clear,” she said, adding that she has had to live with the consequences of his choice every day since.

She said she hates what the man did to her, the fear he created and that she has to fight daily to undo something she never deserved.

“You are the person who caused years of pain, you will never fully understand. Me? I am the one who survived you,” she said.

The girl said the man tried to take everything from her, but didn’t take her voice. She said the man hurt her, changed her and left her with scars, “but I am still here”.

Imposing sentence today/yesterday (MONDAY), Mr Justice Sean Gillane said the man exploited the victim in a deliberate and calculated way.

He said the victim impact statement spoke for itself in a more eloquent fashion than he could. He said that she lives with the consequences of the abuse every single day.

In her statement she said her abuser was “not someone who lost control but made a choice over and over again” to abuse her.

Mr Justice Gillane said the defendant had abused and exploited the charity of the victim’s parents who took him into their home when he was homeless.

He said he was taking into consideration the predatory nature of the offending, its repetition over a two-year period and the abuser’s attempts to use rewards to silence the victim.

He backdated the sentence of 11 years to May 13th last when the defendant went into custody after his conviction.

In her victim impact statement, the girl described feeling dirty, broken and that something was wrong with her.

“The truth is something is wrong with you. But children don’t think like that, they blame themselves,” she said, adding that she blamed herself and felt shame.

The girl said she had experienced suicidal ideation and self-harm.

“Here is where you lose. You thought I would stay silent and carry your secret forever. You were wrong. I found my voice, and that voice is standing here today.”

An investigating garda previously outlined to Jane Horgan Jones BL, prosecuting, that the man would invite the girl to sit with him, often on the pretext of watching a film.

The court heard the abuse started with inappropriate touching over her clothing. This progressed to inappropriate touching of her vagina under her clothing while the man also had his hand on his penis.

The garda said this type of offending happened approximately every second or third week. She was very scared and didn’t understand what was happening.

The man then started to lie behind the girl and place his penis on her body, moving up and down. The girl didn’t know what to do. This type of abuse took place more frequently than the inappropriate touching, the court heard.

Afterwards, the man would smoke a cigarette, then take her to the shop to get sweets.

The court heard that the girl’s parents were away when he raped her. He held her down and told her to shush and be quiet.

She recalled a sharp pain which felt like she was being torn apart, and that she was saying it hurts, crying and screaming.

The girl went to her room when it was finished and felt scared. She felt disgusted and blamed herself.

She told gardai that her uncle raped her two or three times. The offending stopped when she was 11.

The girl’s mother found her vaping during a family holiday and asked her what was wrong. She disclosed the abuse and a report was made to gardai in August 2025.

The court was told the man is originally from Romania and has lived in Ireland for many years.

He has some work history, has experienced periods of homelessness and the victim’s family would take him in from time to time.

During cross-examination, the garda agreed that the man has had some difficulties with drug use, complied with his bail conditions and co-operated with the investigation, though made no admissions when interviewed voluntarily.

Dominic McGinn SC, defending, told the court his client is isolated from family as a result of his wrongdoing, which will make his time in custody more challenging.

The man is doing well in custody and is engaging in education. Mr McGinn noted that despite his client’s “largely chaotic life”, he did not have other convictions.

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.