Three brothers from a family ruled by a “deviant father figure” who sexually abused their three child relatives have been jailed for terms ranging from 11 to 16 and a half years.
The men's 64-year-old mother was jailed for two years on Monday for assisting one of her sons after he anally raped her granddaughter and for one count of assaulting the same child.
The 66-year-old patriarch of the family and his three sons, aged 39, 40 and 41, were convicted of a total of 115 counts of sexually abusing four family members, who were all children at the time, following a Central Criminal Court trial last May.
The 66-year-old man was also due to be sentenced on Monday, but the court heard he is currently in hospital and his case was adjourned to next week.
This man is already serving a 16-year sentence for sexually abusing his daughter, who became pregnant with his child when she was just 17. This baby was brought up by him and his wife as their own.
None of the five accept the verdicts of the jury and continue to maintain their innocence, the court heard.
The three-week trial heard that the alleged offences occurred between 1999 and 2005 in various locations around the country. All of the parties are members of an extended Traveller family.
The four complainants are the oldest couple's daughter, their granddaughter and their two nephews, whom the couple fostered for a period of time.
'Deviant father figure'
In a judgment which took over an hour to hand down on Monday, Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring said the family was “ruled by a deviant father figure who abused and mistreated his wife and children, his grandchild and extended relatives”.
“He was the father, not the grandfather, of his daughter's child,” she added.
The children in this case “had their rights to be safe, to be fed, to be educated, to be protected breached over and over and over again”, she said.
“They are here because they have faced their fears, faced down their abusers and reclaimed their self-worth from the people who paid no heed to their rights,” the judge said.
She said the case “raises serious questions as to how these children were left in the so-called care” of the man and his wife, where they were sexually abused and raped.
“They lived a very basic and difficult life over the years,” the judge said, adding: “Home was often the side of the road.”
She noted the children were often hungry and relied on the kindness of strangers. They had no access to consistent education and suffered “significant mistreatment and abuse”.
She said the patriarch of the family perpetrated violent and sexual abuse on his wife and child relatives.
“He relentlessly preyed on family members with violence and deviance,” she said. “Chillingly, his sons learned to abuse and rape from their father.”
Example
Sentencing the three brothers, the judge noted they had displayed no remorse for their actions or empathy for their victims. She said the example set by their father could not be ignored.
Sentencing the 41-year-old man, she noted he had two victims – his sister and his niece.
This man was found guilty of 19 counts of raping his sister, four counts of sexually assaulting her and three counts of orally raping her. He was also found guilty of two charges of anally raping his niece and one count of raping her.
She jailed him for 15 years, backdated to when he first went into custody last month.
Sentencing the 39-year-old man, the judge noted he had abused his sister, his niece and his male cousin – who was his de facto brother.
This man was found guilty of 20 counts of raping his sister, four counts of sexually assaulting her and six counts of oral rape. He was also found guilty to two counts of anally raping his niece and two counts of anally raping his male cousin.
He was jailed for 16 and a half years.
The judge sentenced the 40-year-old man, who repeatedly abused his sister, to 11 years' imprisonment. He was found guilty of 20 counts of rape, five counts of sexual assault and three counts of oral rape.
Sentencing the matriarch of the family, the judge noted she was herself a victim of sexual and physical abuse at the hands of her husband.
The judge noted she has not shown any empathy for any of the victims in the case, and handed down a sentence of four years, with the final two years suspended on a number of conditions.
The 66-year-old man was found guilty of 24 charges including two charges of anally raping his granddaughter and 22 charges against his nephew – 12 charges of anal rape and ten charges of oral rape.
His case was adjourned for a week to get an update on his health condition.
'Living in hell with devils'
Shane Costelloe SC, prosecuting, previously told the court that the three brothers each started regularly sexually abusing and raping their sister at around the same time her father did.
In a victim impact statement read out by prosecution counsel, this woman said she will never feel normal and never feel safe as a result of the abuse.
She said she lived in fear growing up and continues to feel terror. “My childhood was like living in hell with devils,” she said.
The woman said she has both physical and emotional scars from the abuse perpetrated on her at the hands of her brothers.
“They should have been there to protect me, but they were no different,” she said. She said even in court she felt “terrified” that they would come and get her, either before or after court.
The woman said she is lucky to have her partner and her children, but her kids have lost out on having uncles and cousins as a result of what her brothers did to her.
“They stole my childhood,” she added.
The older couple's granddaughter also gave a victim impact statement, which was read out by counsel.
This woman was regularly abused by the 66-year-old man – her grandfather – and two of her uncles, the 39-year-old and 41-year-old men.
Her grandmother was also convicted of assaulting her and of assisting her uncle by providing her with an adult diaper in the wake of the assault and preventing her from going home and telling her parents what had happened.
“Because of these people, my childhood and innocence were stolen from me,” she said. “I still live in fear.”
The woman said she suffers from PTSD, mental health difficulties, depression, anxiety and flashbacks. She has self-harmed and had suicidal ideation, the court heard.
“I am constantly looking over my shoulder and thinking they will come after me,” she said.
Torn apart
As a result of the abuse, she said her family has been torn apart, and she has difficulty visiting her parents and siblings because of her extended family.
“I now want to live a life free of fear and their actions,” she said.
In his victim impact statement, one of the brothers who was anally raped by the 39-year-old man – his cousin – said he was fostered by the family. “But I could not call them my family, they are monsters,” he said.
He said he was “starved” as a child, was not allowed go to school and was deprived of an education as a result. He said he was often cold and beaten.
He said he often wakes up in fear during the night and has “lost count” of the number of times he has tried to take his own life.
“My life was ruined,” he said. “I never had a chance in life because I lived with those monsters.”
The second brother who was also fostered by the family, said he remains in fear to this day and it never goes away. This man was regularly sexually abused by the 66-year-old man – his uncle.
“Words have not yet been invented to describe the pain [my uncle] put me through,” he said. “The betrayal killed me inside.”
He said he still lives in constant fear. “It never goes away,” he said. “I have fear in my heart and my head. I'm always nervous.”
He said he has also made numerous attempts to end his own life and has engaged in self-harm in an effort to make the pain go away. “Every moment is a struggle.”
185 previous convictions
The court heard the 66-year-old man has 185 previous convictions, including 99 for the sexual abuse of two of his daughters. The remainder are for road traffic offences, larceny, burglary and public order offences.
The 41-year-old man has 178 previous convictions, almost all for road traffic offences, including 13 convictions for hit and run incidents. He is also in custody.
The 40-year-old man has 145 previous convictions, mostly road traffic offences, while the 39-year-old man has 24 similar convictions. The 64-year-old woman has no previous convictions. These three have been on bail throughout the case.
Paul Murray SC, defending this woman, read out a letter in court from some of her other children, pleading for leniency in her case and asking that she not be jailed. Some of the complainants were visibly upset when this letter was read out.
Mr Murray submitted his client came from a background of domestic and sexual abuse. He cited a probation report which submitted she may have been fearful of the consequences, should she speak out on behalf of the complainants.
Mr Murray said the woman might benefit from therapeutic work to help her understand of the harm inflicted in the case.
Defence counsel for the 66-year-old man said he received no education and was illiterate. He learned to spell his name in prison, the court heard.
Defence counsel asked Ms Justice Ring to take into account the fact the offences for which he is currently in jail occurred during a similar time to the offences in this case.
Defence counsel for the 41-year-old man said he is also illiterate and has been trying to better himself during his time in prison.
Ciaran O'Loughlin SC, for the 40-year-old man, said he had no formal education and became a father at the age of 17.
Dominic McGinn SC, for the 39-year-old man, said he has a low intellectual capacity and was disadvantaged as a result of his upbringing.
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.
