Man jailed for raping cousin

This article contains detailed references to rape involving a child. Reader discretion is advised.

By Eimear Dodd

A man who raped his younger cousin when he was a teenager has been directed to have no unsupervised contact with children.

The 20-year-old pleaded guilty to three counts of rape, one of anal rape and one of oral rape on dates between April 28, 2017 and March 27, 2018.

He can’t be named to protect the anonymity of the victim. She was aged between eight and nine when the offending occurred, while he was then 13 and 14 years old.

Mr Justice Paul McDermott on Wednesday imposed a three-year sentence with the final 20 months suspended on strict conditions, including that the man engage with any relevant programmes and co-operate with any child safety and victim safeguarding measures.

The man was directed to have no unsupervised contact with children and not to be in the company of a child without the presence of another adult. He was also ordered to have no direct or indirect contact with the victim.

The Central Criminal Court previously heard that the offending took place at the boy’s home and at the children’s grandparents’ house in County Dublin. It came to light in 2021, after the then 11-year-old girl told her father she didn’t want the teenager to go on a family holiday with them as “I don’t want him to do to me what he did before.”

The girl’s mother read the victim impact statement during a previous sentence hearing. The girl said she had thought of the man as a “big brother” who “did everything with us”. She noted he is in all the photos from her childhood. She said when she looks back now, “All I see is a monster.”

“What you did to me was wrong,” she said, later adding that she would never forgive him for what he had done.

The girl said she doesn’t understand the “full impact” of what has happened and has been told she “won’t fully understand until she is older”.

On Wednesday, Mr Justice Dermott said the victim was a “very brave child” and an “exceptional girl of great character”. He said it “must have taken a lot for her to reveal what happened” and to go through the criminal process.

The judge said the girl was a victim of “very serious offending” who had shown strength of character throughout the investigative and criminal process.

Referring to her victim impact statement, the judge noted how challenging it would be for 14-year-old to fully articulate what has happened to her and its consequences, including for the wider family circle.

The judge said while the girl had suffered trauma, she had also “put the truth out there” and “placed the blame for the offending squarely where it belongs – with her cousin.”

Mr Justice McDermott wished the girl well for the future and expressed the court’s hope that she would go on to live a “full and happy life”.

He said it was an aggravating feature that these offences were committed against a small child by an older cousin who had breached her trust.

The judge said the boy “knew what he was doing was wrong” as the offending took place in secret and away from adults.

Mr Justice McDermott noted the mitigation including the man’s early guilty pleas, expressions of remorse and lack of previous convictions.

He said a headline sentence of 12 years would be appropriate, which he reduced to five years to reflect that the man was at the “lower end of his teenage years” at the time.

The judge said the court was satisfied the man was attempting to understand the devastation caused to the family but noted that the Probation Services had expressed concerns about his insight into his offending behaviour, which must be addressed.

Mr Justice McDermott noted the man is studying at third level and has exams in August. He said the court considered it appropriate that the man should complete his studies and directed that the sentence would start on August 26, once the man has finished his exams.

At a previous hearing, the court heard that victim was interviewed by specialist gardaí and that the first incident occurred at the boy’s home where he raped her during a sleepover.

He also raped her at their grandparents’ house. She told gardaí he raped her anally on another occasion and she told him to stop as it was sore.

The man was interviewed voluntarily at his local garda station in June 2022 and made full admissions. He told gardaí he felt “disgusted, shocked and hated himself” for his actions.

He has no previous convictions and had not come to recent garda attention.

In her victim impact statement, the girl said the offending has affected her parents, grandparents and the wider family, who are “devastated” and she knows they try to hide the impact from her to protect her.

The girl noted that her extended family no longer gather for birthdays or other special occasions. “I don’t think it will go back to normal soon. What [he] did will hang over the family forever,” she wrote.

She said she attended therapy but hasn’t told her friends.

She said she hopes he understands that his actions mean the family will “never be the same” and hopes that he never hurts anyone like this again.

A local garda previously told Carol Doherty BL, prosecuting, that the investigation started after Tusla made a referral to gardaí.

The garda agreed with Eilis Brennan SC, defending, that her client accepted full responsibility for his actions and expressed shame, remorse and disgust when interviewed by gardaí.

It was accepted that the defendant told gardaí he was watching a lot of pornography online at the time and was accessing sites including Pornhub.

The garda agreed that the man said he had breached the girl’s trust and traumatised her through his actions. It was further accepted that he entered an early guilty plea.

Ms Brennan said her client was extremely remorseful for his actions and for the hurt caused to the victim and the wider family.

She noted her client was watching pornography at the time and while this was “no excuse”, she added that the court was “aware what a scourge this is for children and young teenagers”.

She noted the probation report was “favourable” but raised a concern that his limited memory about his offending may be linked to his drug use at the time or a means to shield himself from feelings of shame. However, the report notes her client takes full responsibility for his offending and has displayed victim empathy.

She said he is willing to engage with any appropriate services. A letter from his mother and other documents were handed to the court. Her client has suffered with depression and has a diagnosis of ADHD.

Ms Brennan asked the court to take into account her client’s young age at the time of the offending and that he is due to complete third level exams in August.