A convicted sex offender who acknowledged in a probation assessment that he has an attraction to children has been jailed for sexually abusing four siblings when the children visited his family home in Donegal during their summer holidays.
The 54-year-old man, who cannot be named as he was the brother of the children’s step-father, pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to eight sample charges in relation to one of the brothers, including oral rape, anal rape and sexual assault, on dates between 1999 and 2005, from the time the boy was six-years-old.
He further pleaded guilty to six sample counts of sexual assaults in relation to this man’s older brother, when this child was aged between eight and almost 14.
The man pleaded guilty to sexual assaulting the boy’s older sisters, involving one count sexual assault against one sister when she was 19, and two counts in relation to the other girl when she was 14 and 18 in 1993 and 1997.
The man had previously been jailed for 12 years after he pleaded guilty to 194 counts of sexual assault carried out between 1984 and 2009.
These current offences came to light when the first complainant made a statement to gardaí and the other siblings came forward with their disclosures.
Courage & resilience
Mr Justice David Keane said he was “immensely impressed by the obvious courage and resilience” of the siblings, and said they had done themselves and their families great credit with the great dignity they have shown in their dealing with the justice process.
He said the offences represented “a significant breach of trust” as the man had effectively been in a position as an uncle.
Referring to the offence of anal rape, he said the boy “was a defenceless child of 10-years-old”, and that he was attacked in a situation where he had been sexually assaulted for the previous four years.
Mr Justice Keane said this offence warranted a headline sentence of 13 years, and taking into account the man’s plea of guilty and co-operation with the garda investigation, he would reduce the sentence to 11 years.
He imposed concurrent sentences of five years for the sexual assault offences against this victim, and concurrent terms of five years for the sexual assaults against his brother. Concurrent terms of 18 months were imposed in relation to the sexual assaults on their sisters.
Mr Justice Keane suspended the final two years of the 11-year term on strict conditions and further imposed a two-year post-release supervision order, during which time the man must engage with the Probation Service and undertake any courses they deem fit.
The now 31-year-old man, who was anally raped by the accused, stated in his victim impact statement, read into the record by prosecuting counsel, Patricia McLaughlin SC, that he found it hard to put into words how the abuse affected him or the level of damage and pain the man caused.
He said he was a five-year-old boy who wanted nothing but love and protection, but the rest of his life has been left scarred “by terror, fear and trauma”.
He said he was bullied when he was younger because he was so quiet, and he used to feel dread at the thoughts of the summer holidays as he knew it meant that the family would be going to Donegal.
He said as he matured, he realised what had happened to him was wrong.
'Unbearable'
The victim said he went from being a model student to being expelled and said he had made numerous attempts to take his own life “because the pain became too unbearable”.
He said he has since found it very hard to trust people, which has led to him isolating himself, adding he has “suffered greatly with my mind”.
He said he is plagued with nightmares as a direct result of the abuse he was subjected to as young child, and said he is still terrified of the dark, adding he has been “given a life sentence of pain”.
The man concluded his statement by saying he would not be here were it not for his wife and children, and added that he finally feels he has been given a chance for peace.
His 32-year-old brother stated in his victim impact statement that as young child he was very trusting. He said he initially believed the abuse was just “mess playing”, but said on more than one occasion it made him feel uncomfortable.
He said the accused was “liked by all who knew him”, but said he was scared, especially when he was alone with the accused. He said “some days are harder than others” and the abuse “often makes me doubt my ability to be a parent”.
“I feel that I am no good to anyone. I fear I am too damaged and unfit to be a parent,” he said.
His 43-year-old sister stated she has always felt like she has never been good enough, and said that at times she has “just given into men, as I felt they would take it anyway”. She added that she will never forgive the accused.
Their 44-year-old sister said she was “very scared and confused” by the abuse and did not believe it was happening. She said the accused was “very charming and seemed to be great fun”.
She said when she was sexually assaulted, she was in “complete shock and just froze”. She said it was “very difficult” on her family, and they are afraid to speak about what happened. She described having “a mental block of speaking to my siblings”.
“I blame him for breaking up relationships in our family. I hope our family can move on together once this is over,” the woman concluded.
Garnet Orange SC, defending, told the court that his client accepts that he cannot continue to live in Donegal once released from prison.
Counsel accepted that the offences were “very traumatic and appalling”, and that the two brothers had been abused on an ongoing basis.
Mr Orange said his client acknowledges that he has an attraction to children and accepts that he can have no further direct or indirect contact with the victims in the case.
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.
