A young woman who was one of two sisters sexually abused by her grandfather has said he “deserves every horrible thing that happens” to him, adding she hates him for what he did to them.
The now 22-year-old woman read her victim impact statement to the court at the man's sentence hearing on Tuesday.
The 79-year-old Dublin man was jailed for seven years having pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to 11 counts of sexual abuse against both girls on dates between 2006 and 2020.
The older girl was aged between three and 12 at the time of the abuse, while her younger sister, who is now 13, was aged between five and eight.
The offences occurred in his Dublin home and at the girls’ family home in Co Cavan.
The man had denied the charges and did not plead guilty until the second day of the trial after a jury had already been sworn in. The complainants had not given evidence at that point.
The abuse came to light in 2020 when the younger sister learnt about “touches” and “keeping secrets” in school and told a teacher that her grandfather had been touching her inappropriately.
The parents were alerted, and they later spoke to the girl’s older sister, who confirmed she had also been sexually abused by the man.
A local garda told Dominic McGinn SC, prosecuting, that the touching involved the man initially tickling the girls and escalated to touching their breasts and genital area both inside and outside their clothing.
The older girl was interviewed by specialist gardaí in May 2020 and her younger sister was interviewed the following month.
The older girl said that for “as long as I can remember” her grandfather had been molesting her. She said it happened “every time we were alone together”.
She said at one point she recalled her grandfather exposing his erect penis. He told her not to tell anyone about the abuse as she would not be believed.
Secret
The man was arrested in October 2020 and interviewed but made no admissions. The case was given a priority trial date because of the young age of the girls but was delayed.
The older sister read her victim impact statement into the record on Tuesday, telling the court she struggled to understand what was happening as a young child and was sworn to secrecy. She said she had intended to take that secret to her grave.
She said the secret followed her around and left her with “a desperate need and want for control” which led to her developing an eating disorder. She spoke of how on some days she would eat nothing more than a biscuit with a cup of tea, while other days she ate nothing at all.
She said she believed the abuse was her own fault and because her grandmother, the defendant’s wife, had taught her that good people go to heaven and bad people go to hell. She worried about dying because she feared she would go to hell.
She described suffering panic attacks as a child, but she would have to “choke them down in silence” because if anyone heard she would not be able to explain what was wrong with her.
She said she suffered “immense guilt for my sister’s suffering”. “I don’t have to imagine what happened to her, I know,” she continued, adding this made her feel sick to her stomach.
The woman said she has since been diagnosed with a condition that has left her in chronic pain, which can be attributed to stress. She is on medication for the condition and once overdosed on the medication, the court heard.
She spoke of how many people in the family did not believe her and her sister, including their grandmother, the accused’s wife, adding that all but one of her uncles have sided with her grandfather.
She said she refused to have anything to do with people who stand alongside a paedophile.
The woman also spoke of the difficulty of having the trial “hanging over our heads”.
If what my grandmother, your wife, told me is true about heaven and hell, then I know exactly where you are going
Speaking to her grandfather she said she does not care about what sentence he may get.
“If what my grandmother, your wife, told me is true about heaven and hell, then I know exactly where you are going.”
“You deserve every horrible thing that happens you. I hate you for what you did to me and my sister,” the woman said.
The complainants' mother read a victim impact statement on behalf of the second victim.
She said their lives have been turned upside down and thrown into chaos “as a result of my girls being sexually abused by their grandfather”.
She said the fact the man denied the offences and attempted to make liars out of her daughters “added salt to the wound”.
She said she had left her daughters with their grandfather – her father-in-law – in the belief they would be kept safe. She said the man had broken all boundaries and trust, and the fact that other family members do not believe the girls’ accounts hurt her daughters even more.
She described it as being like a bereavement for her children and said her marriage has broken down as a result of the case, adding her son feels responsible that he was not able to protect his sisters.
She also spoke of how the trial process left both of her daughters under a lot of stress and anxiety.
“He took their innocence away. This broke our hearts. He abused his position as their grandfather. The girls could not understand why they had to go through the court system because they were telling the truth. He could have avoided all of this by pleading guilty,” the woman continued.
She said her eldest daughter had to sit her Leaving Cert knowing her grandfather was denying the offences.
I hope he gets what he deserves
She described her daughter’s eating disorder as “a big worry”, adding: “I could see she was not in a good place. I just wanted to take the pain away from her. I would have done anything to stop this nightmare for my girls.”
“There are no winners or losers in this situation. I hope he gets what he deserves. I hope he gets taken off the streets so he cannot inflict this pain and torture, like he did on my girls, on any other children,” the woman concluded.
Judge Elva Duffy imposed consecutive sentences of three years for the sexual assault of the younger girl and four years for the assault on the older girl.
She commended the girls and their mother for their bravery and dignity throughout the process.
“Nothing this court does can take away the suffering,” Judge Duffy said.
She noted that the offending only came to an end when the younger girl disclosed the abuse following her understanding through school that what was happening to her was wrong.
She said the offences represented a constant stream of abuse of these two children, “one being replaced by another”.
Judge Duffy described the victim impact statements as “moving and eloquent” and later added that she noted the “powerful consequences” the abuse had on both girls.
She said it was of fundamental importance that anyone who has listened to the man’s denials, realises that he has now accepted full responsibility for what he has done. She acknowledged the family was torn apart while the man continued to deny the offences.
“He is the person who brought these acts to bear,” Judge Duffy said, before she accepted evidence that his marriage has since broken up.
She said the man’s acceptance of guilt will not change what happened to the young girls, or bring back the innocence of the childhood that they should have been allowed.
Padraig Dwyer SC, defending, said his client publicly confirms his guilt, “although it has taken a while, he takes full responsibility for what was a serious breach of trust, which has left the victims with very serious consequences for their health and happiness”.
Counsel said the victim and her mother spoke eloquently and acknowledged the “untold damage” his client’s actions have had on the family.
“He is aware and appreciates the suffering he has caused to his grandchildren,” Mr Dwyer said.
He asked Judge Duffy to take into account his client’s late plea of guilty and reports before the court that conclude that he is at a low risk of re-offending.
