Abuser sat down opposite victim on train to court

By Isabel Hayes

A man who repeatedly and violently raped his younger half-brother and sister when they were children has been taken into custody ahead of sentencing after he sat opposite his sibling on the train to court.

The 32-year-old man, who can’t be named to protect the anonymity of his siblings, pleaded guilty to nine counts of raping his younger sister and three counts of anally and orally raping his little brother at various locations in the south-east of the country.

The court heard these were sample counts that covered a lengthy period of offending from 2001 to 2010.

The man was aged between 10 and 19 years’ old when he abused his younger siblings, while his younger brother was aged between seven and 12 and his sister was between six and 14 years’ old.

The man was on bail ahead of a psychology appointment in order for a report to be prepared for the court, but Mr Justice Paul McDermott remanded him in custody after the court heard he sat opposite his half-sister on the train to court for this morning’s sentence hearing.

Mr Justice McDermott said he found it “disturbing” that this had happened, considering the man had pleaded guilty to committing serious offences against his half-sister.

“This is the last thing that should have happened,” he said.

The court heard the woman immediately moved seats after her brother sat opposite her on the train.

The court heard the man pleaded guilty to the charges on the first day of his Central Criminal Court trial in January.

A local garda detective told Dean Kelly SC, prosecuting, that the man’s half-brother came forward to gardaí about the abuse in 2019, followed shortly afterwards by his sister.

The court heard that the man first abused his half-sister when she was just six years old.

Over the course of the next eight years, he raped her repeatedly in the family home.

The court heard he often dragged her into his bedroom where he would lock the door, strip her and pin her down.

He played loud music on his games console so no-one would hear her or her brother cry and scream, the court heard.

In relation to his half-brother, he first raped him when he was eight years’ old – pinning him down in the bedroom they shared and covering his mouth so no-one would hear him scream.

On one occasion, the court heard he tied his little brother’s arms and legs together with brown masking tape, before orally raping him.

The girl also witnessed this brother being raped and the court heard of two occasions when the children were abused one after the other by their brother, while locked in the bedroom together.

The court heard of instances of the sister comforting her brother after he had been abused, hugging him until he calmed down or had cried himself to sleep.

Neither child confided in their mother, with the court hearing their abuser warned the little boy that he would be taken away if he told anyone and he would “never see his mammy again”.

In his victim impact statement, which was read out in court by counsel, the younger brother – now a man in his twenties – said he questioned himself for years and struggled to come to terms with his sexuality as a result of the abuse.

He said that at a time when he needed the help and protection of his older brother from bullies – “He turned out to be the bully”.

He said he hid the secret for years and struggled to understand how his brother could “cause so much pain and have no remorse”.

He said the family dynamic was completely changed as a result of the abuse, but he said his relationship with his mother has gone “from strength to strength”.

“She is my rock,” he said. “She blamed herself and felt she didn’t do her job as a mother.”

But he said the only person to blame was his brother.

“I’m not a victim, I’m a survivor,” he said. “I am a strong, independent, fearless young man.

“But never forget: I was seven. I was eight. I was nine. I was 10. I was 11. I was 12.”

In her victim impact statement, which was also read out by counsel, the man’s half-sister said the abuse left her struggling with depression, anxiety, flashbacks and difficulty sleeping.

“He ruined my life,” she said. “From the age of six, he took absolutely everything from me…He has taken so much from me and he will never understand how much I have lost.”

Addressing her half-brother directly, the woman said: “You are a disgrace to society”.

“He should hang his head in shame. He is an absolute monster.”

The court heard the man has one previous conviction for drink-driving.

He has a number of children with his partner and was supported in court by his partner’s mother.

After remanding the man in custody, Mr Justice McDermott adjourned the sentence hearing to July 22, when a plea of mitigation will be heard.