Man (39) jailed for regularly raping niece as a child
Sonya McLean
A man has been jailed for four years for the regular rape of his niece over a two-year period while she was a child.
The 39-year-old man pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to four charges including rape and oral rape on dates between July 2000 and July 2002. He was 14 to 16 years old at the time of the offence while the girl was between six and eight years old.
A local detective told the court that the woman made a complaint to gardaí in December 2021.
She said her uncle lived with her grandparents at the time. She described the first incident saying that her uncle was getting changed for work when he took off her trousers and underwear and sexually abused her while he masturbated.
He got dressed afterwards and told her not to tell anyone.
On another occasion he performed oral sex on her. She said she was “confused and scared” at the time. She recalled the rapes being sore. She said on other occasions he made her perform oral sex on him.
The detective said the woman later told a friend and ultimately told her mother. Her mother said she would do whatever she wanted to do in terms of progressing with the complaint before her mother also contacted the accused.
He later wrote a letter to both his niece and his sister. In that he said: “I have no clue how you feel about me but I can only assume it is bad. I thought about apologising for years.”
“What I had done was terrible, and I will never forgive myself. I think of what I did with deep regret every day,” the man continued, before he suggested that he had been abused himself as a child.
In August 2019, the man indicated he would rather meet up and talk in person. He said he was willing to go to the gardaí and tell the truth.
The detective confirmed that the man “did not give a fulsome account to gardaí” when he was ultimately interviewed. He denied the offences and said he did not recall the text message exchange with his sister nor did he remember sending the letters.
Victim impact statement
The woman said in her victim impact statement that at the time of the abuse she did not understand what was happening.
She said it impacted on her childhood and teenage years and described the rape offences as physically painful.
She said she began drinking at 12 years old and stopped going to school. She began to experience anxiety and panic attacks as a teenager.
She said she has been hospitalised following suicide attempts. She started drinking heavily and was later diagnosed anti-depressant and anti-anxiety medication.
The woman said telling everyone what happened was difficult as she witnessed how it impacted her family. She described horrific nightmares and difficulty sleeping.
“I am doing this all for the people who are afraid to speak out,” the woman said, encouraging others, who may have been abused to come forward.
She concluded her statement thanking her family and the gardaí who “have really helped on this journey”.
“I do hope in time I can properly move on for the sake of myself and my child,” the woman said.
Paul Murray SC, defending, said his client wished to offer his sincere and deep regret and remorse for his offending behaviour.
Counsel said the man accepts that he knew what he did was wrong, even though he was young, he knew it was wrong.
Murray acknowledged the “poignant” victim impact statement and asked the court to accept that his client was genuinely remorseful.
Justice Eileen Creedon said it was serious offending against the young girl which represented a breach of trust considering it happened in the home of grandparents.
She acknowledged that the man was a child at the time of the abuse. She accepted he had written a letter of apology which indicated that he had also been abused as a child, but the judge said “he didn’t use this as an excuse”.
Ms Justice Creedon acknowledged that the man has taken responsibility for his actions and is considered to be at a low risk of re-offending.
She set a headline sentence of seven years. Ms Justice Creedon said the man was entitled to significant mitigation due to his plea of guilty as it stopped the woman having to give evidence at trial.
She acknowledged that he has no previous convictions and was “generally co-operative” with the investigation before she imposed a five-year term. The final year of the sentence was suspended for a year on strict conditions.
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.
