A Leaving Certificate student who started to sexually abuse his sister when she was eight years old and he was 12 has been jailed for one year.
The 18-year-old man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his victim, was convicted by a jury at the Central Criminal Court last December of a total of five counts of sexual assault - three on unknown dates between July 2016 and August 2018 at the victim's home in Dublin and two counts on November 2nd 2019 at a restaurant.
The jury also found him not guilty of one count of rape and one count of sexual assault.
The victim is the defendant's half-sister and was aged between eight and 11 at the time of the offending, while he was aged between 12 and 15. The court heard the defendant continues to deny any wrongdoing.
A sentencing hearing took place in February and the case was adjourned to allow the defendant to sit his Leaving Certificate exams.
The abuse, which included inappropriate touching, took place in the victim's home, on occasions when her brother was visiting, and at a restaurant on November 2nd 2019. The offending came to light in December 2019, after the girl told her father.
Imposing sentence, Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring noted that the mother of the victim and the defendant had passed away when they were both very young.
She said the decision of their fathers to maintain contact between the siblings was the “right route to take in normal circumstances”, however, neither could have “seen the abuse that would arise”.
Aggravating factors
She noted that the aggravating features included the victim's young age when the abuse started, its duration and that it took place in her home, which should have been a place of safety for her. She said there had been a breach of trust, and that the victim had suffered a “criminal breach of her right to bodily autonomy”.
Ms Justice Ring noted the defendant's young age and his co-operation with gardaí as mitigating factors. She said the court was concerned that the Probation Service was unable to carry out a risk assessment as the defendant continues to deny the offending.
She said if the defendant was an adult, she would set a headline sentence of five years, reduced to four years when the mitigation was taken into account.
Ms Justice Ring handed the defendant a two-year-sentence with the final 12 months suspended on strict conditions, including that he place himself under the supervision of the Probation Service for two years post-release.
She said she had reduced the sentence due to the defendant's young age, noting that if this case had been dealt with before his 18th birthday, a custodial sentence would have been the last resort. Ms Justice Ring noted that the jury did not find him guilty of the most serious charge – rape - on the indictment.
Courage
She said the girl “deserved great praise for speaking out” and finding the courage to tell her father about the abuse. Wishing the girl well for the future, Ms Judge Ring said she had showed herself to be a person of “great character, resolve and strength”.
At a previous sentence hearing, a local garda told Philip Rahn SC, prosecuting, that in December 2019, the victim came downstairs and went outside to find her father.
She was in floods of tears and handed a note to her dad which said: “Sometimes when he comes to visit, he touches me in my private parts,” and on the back of the note, the victim had written, “Please don’t be mad at me.” Her dad was shocked and comforted his daughter, before confiding in family members.
The garda said the victim was interviewed by specialist gardaí, and footage of this was played during the trial. The victim told gardaí that on one occasion, she was sexually assaulted twice on the same day, once in her home and once in a restaurant, by her step-brother.
On both occasions, the boy waited outside the bathroom for her and placed his hand into the front of her trousers. The girl described it as “touching me in my front on my lady space, where you would do your wee”.
On another occasion, the girl was in her bedroom, and the accused came in, pulled down her pants and started touching her, saying: “I’m just doing something.”
The girl was scared, and he stopped when he heard someone coming up the stairs. The victim also described an incident where the accused went to give her a hug, and they toppled over and fell on a chair.
The accused took his penis out and rubbed it off her, but when he heard someone coming, he stopped and put his penis back in his trousers.
On the final occasion, the victim and the accused were talking, and the accused took out his penis and said, “Touch that,” and the victim said, “No.” The accused then wanted her to put his penis in her mouth, but she refused. He asked her: “Will you rub it?” and put her hand on his penis.
A victim impact statement which was read in court said: “My life has changed and not in a good way. Some of my childhood was taken away.”
“I have a lot of anger for my brother, and I took it out on the rest of my family.” The statement finished with: “I trusted him because he was my big brother.”
The garda agreed with Rodrick O’Hanlon SC, defending, that his client had been cooperative with gardaí during interview.
Mr O’Hanlon said this court case has been hanging over his client for several years and has had an effect on him and his schooling.
Counsel said his client will now be registered as a sex offender.
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.
