Musician is jailed for the repeated sexual abuse and rape of his younger sister

By Fiona Ferguson and Sonya McLean

A musician who sexually abused his younger sister during their childhood has been jailed for five and a half years.

Karl Ronan (55) raped and indecently assaulted his younger sister over four years until it was discovered in 1986 by their mother, who sent them to see a child psychologist.

His sister Lynn Ronan (51) waived her anonymity so he can be named.

The Central Criminal Court heard that the abuse was “swept under the carpet” and continued to have a devastating effect on his sister’s life until she reported it as an adult in 2018.

Karl Ronan of Curraghhall Green, Tyrrellstown, Dubin 15 pleaded guilty to rape and indecent assault of his younger sister at locations in Dublin and Laois on dates between 1982 and 1986.

His sister was aged between 10 and 14 years old at the time.

Passing sentence yesterday, Mr Justice Paul McDermott said a significant period of time had passed before the woman made a complaint to the gardaí.

He said during this time “the pressure remains on the victim to keep the secret and not to speak. That may endure for years, as in this case, and it takes a lot to bring out the complaint from under the stones and speak the truth in the matter.”

“That is what has been done and the complainant is to be commended for that,” Mr Justice McDermott said.

The judge said Ms Ronan’s brother had bullied, dominated and blighted her childhood, teenage years and later in adulthood.

He acknowledged the violence that all the children experienced in the family and said Ronan had made his sister’s “already difficult childhood more difficult”.

He noted that as “a little girl” she should have been able to look up to and rely on her brother but he abused that trust and took advantage of the situation.

“He knew they (the incidences of abuse) were wrong and he persisted in them because he knew he could get away with it,” Mr Justice McDermott said.

He noted that the offence in the case had been committed by a child but added had they been committed by an adult – the offence would have merited “very high penalties” given the repetitive and frequency of the offences and the fact they included repeated rapes of the young girl.

The judge noted the fact that Ronan had been engaged as a professional musician for a number of years, had a continuous work record and no criminal convictions.

He further acknowledged that he has been assessed at a “low-risk of re-offending” in a sexual way.

Justice McDermott said that the assessment also concluded that Ronan required “further treatment to develop victim empathy” before he acknowledged that Ms Ronan “eloquently” set out in her victim impact statement “the utterly devastating effect of the abuse”.

Justice McDermott sentenced Ronan to six years in prison for the rape offence and a concurrent there year term for the indecent assault offences.

He suspended the final six months of the sentence on strict conditions including that he engage with the Probation Service for two years upon his release from prison.

He ordered that Ronan attend any programmes as deemed suitable by the Probation Service and have no direct or indirect contact with Ms Ronan.

Sergeant Paul Daly told Cathleen Noctor SC, prosecuting, that the garda investigation began after Ms Ronan made a disclosure of childhood sexual abuse during a counselling session in 2018.

The abuse occurred in four main locations – their childhood family home in Dublin, two locations near their grandmother’s home in Laois and in Galway.

The woman described how the abuse began with her brother creeping into her room to touch her between the legs and put his fingers inside her vagina.

The abuse escalated into him forcing her to masturbate him or put his penis in her mouth and ultimately to him raping her.

The woman also described physical bullying, coercion and “wearing her down” from her brother.

The abuse ended when their mother found out and they were taken to see a child psychologist.

Karl Ronan told gardai during interview that it had been “play acting” and was consensual.

He said it ended when it was discovered by their parents.

He denied rape.

Ronan prepared a letter of apology for his sister, but she did not wish to accept it, describing it as “self serving” and “too little, too late.”

In her victim impact statement, Ms Ronan said she had spent too many years with deep sadness and self-loathing, feeling like she was crazy.

She said when she was unable to move on and pretend the abuse had not happened, she was made to feel as if she was the problem.

She outlined how her schooling and family life had been affected and she suffered medical issues.

She said she plastered on a happy face and had kept the secret for too many years.

She said even when the abuse was discovered, it had been swept under the carpet.

“You very nearly got away with this,” she told her brother.

“All I wanted was to feel this was not my fault and stop the lies.”

She said he had spent years making her feel terrible and a pariah.

She told him she had never tried to blacken his name or speak in derogatory terms about him and had wanted as few people as possible to know what had happened because she was ashamed.

She said she hoped it would end when he admitted his guilt, but that he continued to “spin the narrative” that he was the wronged individual and his life was being ruined.

She said her brother had told a relative that she was “making it bigger than it was.”

She said it had not been a case of them being “young and making mistakes”, that Karl Ronan had sexually abused, raped and beaten her into submission.

She said any apology from her brother would not be genuine and would be nothing other than self serving and an effort to engender sympathy from the court.

The garda agreed with Eanna Molloy SC, defending, that there had been violence in the family home at the hands of the siblings’ father and there was a pervading sense of fear in the home.

The garda told Mr Molloy that despite extensive inquires, there were no records found from the child psychologist reportedly attended by the children after the abuse was discovered.

Mr Molloy handed in testimonials, psychologist and probation reports to court.

He outlined details in the psychologist’s report such as the violence in the family home which the report said could lead to a highly stressed brain craving love and attention and disassociation from the reality that a victim is not consenting.

Mr Molloy outlined the background detailed in the report in relation to the family dynamic of constant and unexpected punishments being meted out for the smallest of reasons and physical beatings of the two siblings.

Counsel submitted Karl Ronan did not have insight at the time into the impact of his behaviour.

He said Ronan had used music as a block and coping response against the menaces in his home.

He submitted that Ronan had also been a child at the time and had made partial admission immediately.

He asked the court to extend as much leniency as possible.