A man who sexually abused his young cousin 36 years ago when they were both children has been jailed for one year.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard the man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found guilty of three counts of indecent assault of a boy at an address in Leinster on dates between July and August 1988. He has no previous convictions.
He was 13 at the time of the abuse, and the victim was eight.
Passing sentence on Friday, Judge Elma Sheahan paid tribute to the “courage and dignity” of the complainant, noting the abuse had a profound effect on him.
She said the court must have regard to the fact that the man was a 13-year-old child at the time of his offending, handing down a sentence of 18 months and suspending the final six months on a number of conditions.
A local detective told Gareth Baker SC, prosecuting, that the offences occurred in the injured party's home.
The court heard the injured party and the defendant went to a bedroom in the house, and while there, the defendant said they were going to play a game.
The defendant unbuttoned his trousers and removed his penis and told the injured party to touch it, and then asked him to put it in his mouth. The offence lasted under a minute, and the defendant left the room afterwards.
The court heard that a few weeks later, under the same circumstances, the defendant said they would play the game they played last time and put his penis into the injured party's mouth.
On the third occasion, the defendant told the injured party to put his penis in his mouth and “to take as much of it as he could and told him not to go too fast or too slow”, the court heard.
Complaint
In June 2018, the injured party made a complaint to the gardaí. The defendant went to the Garda station voluntarily but denied the offences.
A victim impact statement was read to the court, which said: “To try and describe in words what you have done to me is very difficult.”
“You stole my childhood... It took me over 30 years to figure out I did nothing wrong.
“After what you did, I was put into an institution and became addicted to alcohol and drugs.”
He added: “I will never forgive you for what you done.”
The detective agreed with John Byrne SC, defending, that there was no evidence of any violence or threats, and that the offending took place over a six-week period.
Mr Byrne said the defendant respects the jury's verdicts but does not accept them.
Counsel said his client had never come to Garda attention before this, adding his client has mental health issues and has made attempts on his own life.
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.
