Man jailed for seven years for historic rape of boy in Meath

Claire Henry

A man with an intellectual disability has been jailed for seven years for the historical rape and aggravated sexual abuse of a seven-year-old boy.

The Central Criminal Court heard that the now 73-year-old man pleaded guilty to two counts of anal rape and two counts of aggravated sexual assault on a full facts basis on dates between June 1994 and August 1995 at a location in Co Meath.

The man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the injured party, has no prior convictions.

Passing sentence on Monday, Mr Justice Paul Burns noted the man had an intellectual disability but said he was satisfied the accused knew what he was doing was wrong.

Mr Justice Burns said that was “not to downplay his intellectual disability” and noted that prison will be hard for him.

The judge noted the man, who was afforded an intermediary for court proceedings, lives alone and suffers from moderate intellectual disability.

Giving evidence at a previous hearing, a local garda told Eoin Lawlor SC, prosecuting, that when the offending took place, the injured party was aged seven and the defendant was 42 years old.

The defendant would isolate the young child and asked him to rub his genital area. When the boy refused, the defendant produced a penknife, and the boy rubbed the man until they heard someone coming.

This offending occurred multiple times, and the defendant always produced a pocketknife.

The court heard that during the summer of 1995, the offending escalated, and the defendant brought the young boy to an isolated area. He again produced a knife and told the boy to remove his trousers and underwear. The defendant then anally raped the boy, who was left terrified.

On a separate and final occasion, the defendant approached the young boy and tried to grab him.

The boy described to the gardaí that he “had had enough and was ready”, and the complainant said that if the man tried it again, he would tell his father.

In 2023, the injured party made a complaint to the gardaí.

In March 2024, the defendant was arrested, detained and interviewed. He denied the allegations. He said the injured party was lying and that the boy used to follow him around, and said the injured party “probably volunteered to touch him”.

The defendant agreed that he did have a pocket knife and then stated, “He probably just made it up so I wouldn’t do it again.”

A victim impact statement was read to the court, which said: “What happened to me as a child changed me forever. The abuse took away my innocence, my sense of safety and my trust in others.”

He said, “The trauma affected my education. For a long time, I blamed myself; the trauma stayed with me.”

“The abuse hasn’t just affected me; it has affected how I am as a parent. Inside, I am still fighting to reclaim my feelings.”

“I need to speak out not just for me, but for the young child I was. I have had recurrent nightmares even to this day.” He concluded by saying: “The pain does not go away as time goes by, it just lingers.”

On Monday, Mr Justice Burns said the court acknowledged the courage of the complainant for coming forward.

“I want to make it clear to the complainant that he is being too hard on himself,” said the judge.

The Director of Public Prosecution placed the offence of rape in the 10 to 15-year category and informed the court that the maximum available sentence for aggravated sexual assault was life in prison.

The garda agreed with Michael Bowman, SC, defending, that a plea was entered which brought some degree of comfort to the injured party.

The garda agreed with counsel that his client has a long work history and that this offending has come as “a huge shock to his family and the people who know him.”

Mr Bowman said his client wishes to “acknowledge the hurt he has caused to the injured party and his family.” He said the defendant has extremely low cognitive abilities.

Counsel said the defendant “has insight into his offending and has communicated that he knows the damage that he has caused”.

He asked the court to take into account his client's lack of previous convictions, his guilty plea and that the likelihood of him re-offending is low.

The judge noted counsel for the accused said the offences lay at the lower end of the 10 to 15-year range, but noted the protracted course of the abuse and the significant age disparity.

He also noted the threats, the production of a knife and the element of humiliation of the victim.

Mr Justice Burns sentenced him to eight years imprisonment with the final year suspended for a period of three years and ordered that he must undergo post-release supervision. The judge also placed him on the sex offenders’ register.

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.