Man defiled vulnerable teenage girl in Waterford
Waterford Courthouse
A man in his 40s has been imprisoned for his defilement of a vulnerable teenage girl.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared at Waterford Circuit Court before Judge Eugene O’Kelly.
The offence occurred nearly a decade ago at a location in Waterford. The girl, then aged 16, had recently moved to Ireland from Eastern Europe and was struggling to integrate. One day she was brought to a flat by a friend, where the man was living in at the time. He was in his early 30’s and plied her with alcohol and attention. The girl came to think of the man as a trusted person and someone who would protect her. She opened up to him about sexual abuse she suffered in her home country. The man pressured the girl into performing sexual acts with him. In one incident, the victim described being pushed down onto a bed and the accused forcing oral sex on her.
Her mother came to learn about the relationship and was "not happy". Two years after meeting, the teen gave birth to a child, fathered by the accused. The man constantly exerted control over her, pressuring her into wearing lingerie and at one point tried to make her set up an OnlyFans account.
Towards the end of the relationship she arrived to their home one day to find the man drinking and smoking with his friends. Their child had been left to sit in a soiled nappy.
When Gardaí arrested the man in 2023, he denied the accusations. He said that he never pressured her and that he was "willing to take a polygraph test".
He told Gardaí: “It was not forced, I asked her if she wanted to do it again. She started crying and it all stopped.”
The man had three previous convictions, including for sexual assault.
Defence counsel Michelle Smith De Brúin told the court that her client was "not aware" that the victim was under the age of consent.
In her victim impact statement, the woman described being groomed by the accused and not realising that he was a predator. She wrote about crying and throwing up after the assault.
Judge O’Kelly imposed a headline sentence of three years, reduced by nine months in mitigation.
Judge O’Kelly noted that the accused’s separate offence for sexual assault "does suggest that this is a man with a propensity of abuse towards young females".
The final 18 months were suspended on the condition that the accused leave the jurisdiction and not return for a period of six years.
