A man who raped a teenage girl after a New Year's Eve party has been jailed for seven years.
The 35-year-old was sent forward from the District Court to the Central Criminal Court on signed guilty pleas to one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault on January 1st, 2023.
The court heard the then 17-year-old girl along with her sister and mother were temporarily staying at the home of their mother's partner after becoming homeless a few months earlier.
The man is a nephew of the girl's mother's partner and was also living in the same house. He can't be identified to protect his victim's anonymity.
The Central Criminal Court heard that the man has four previous convictions for defilement of a child under 17, a female cousin, for which he received a sentence of three years and six months in 2018.
The court was told that the man first sexually assaulted the victim in a car on the way back from a New Year's Eve party. The girl's mother, her partner and another woman were also in the car at the time.
The girl didn't say anything when they arrived home and went to bed. She had had some drinks at the party and was drifting in and out of sleep when the man sexually assaulted her twice more, then raped her.
Reading her impact statement, the victim told the man “you have not only hurt me, but ruined me”.
“You made me hate myself. I can’t look at myself in mirror,” she said.
She said her body will be “forever damaged” because of him. She said she will “never be able to forget” and will “live the rest of my life with what you did to me”.
She said the man's actions also affected her family, many of whom blamed themselves because they were asleep in the house when the rape occurred.
The victim said she is in therapy and has experienced nightmares, sleepless nights and symptoms of PTSD.
Imposing sentence on Wednesday, Mr Justice Paul McDermott said the man exploited the victim's vulnerabilities as she had not only consumed alcohol, but had experienced homelessness.
He said the man had “brazenly” sexually assaulted the girl in his uncle's car, then deliberately continued his offending, which escalated to rape.
Mr Justice McDermott noted that the man violated the girl's sense of security, her trust and the trust of his family.
He said the man's previous convictions were a “significant” aggravating feature. He noted the man had committed a serious sexual offence against a family member and “within a relatively short period of time and while still on sex offenders' register, he went on to commit these offences in the same home”.
Mr Justice McDermott said the court regarded this as a “more serious case” in light of the aggravating factors and set a headline sentence on the rape count of 12 years.
He said the man was entitled to a “high degree of mitigation” due to his very early pleas. But, he said the man's expressions of remorse and regret had be to considered in light of his “serious lack of insight” into his offending.
He imposed a sentence of eight years with the final 12 months suspended for two years on strict conditions.
Mr Justice McDermott directed the man to have no direct or indirect contact with the victim. He also imposed a post-release supervision order of five years. The judge backdated the sentence to when the man entered custody.
Addressing the victim, Mr Justice McDermott expressed the court's hopes that things would improve for her in the future.
He said there is a tendency in cases like this for complainants or family members to blame themselves, but this was inappropriate and “means everyone damages themselves further”.
Mr Justice McDermott said the only person to blame was the offender.
The judge told the young woman she had shown character, courage and determination through the criminal process.
“You are stronger than you may believe”, the judge said, adding that the court would “encourage you to keep striking out for the future you have envisioned for yourself”.
He noted the victim expressed in her statement feeling negative about herself when she looked in the mirror. He said the court suggested next time, “you should take stock and pride in person looking back at you”, adding she had displayed “tremendous strength of character”.
“You have a great deal to offer yourself, your family and community into the future in fulfilling those ambitions,” the judge said.
The court heard the girl later told her mother what had happened. Her mother and her mother's partner confronted the man shortly afterwards. He denied the allegations, but left the house a few minutes later and hasn't returned since.
The victim and her mother made a complaint to gardai on January 5 and she was later taken to a sexual assault treatment unit (SATU) for an examination. She was subsequently interviewed by specialist gardai.
The man went to the United Kingdom, but returned voluntarily for interview. He also provided a DNA sample, which matched saliva found on the girl's underwear.
The investigating garda agreed with Brendan Grehan SC, defending, that his client signed guilty pleas at the District Court and didn't apply for bail.
A letter from the man was read to the court in which he apologised to the victim, took full responsibility for his actions and said he fully accepts his punishment.
Counsel asked the court to take into account the contents of a probation report and to give as much leniency as possible for his client.
His client is assessed at medium risk of re-offending, but has a number of protective factors including his work history.
