Man jailed for ten years for sexually abusing niece

This article contains references to rape and sexual assault. Reader discretion is advised.

By Isabel Hayes

A man who raped and sexually assaulted his niece when she was a child has been jailed for 10 years.

The 49-year-old Meath man, who can’t be named to protect the anonymity of his niece, was found guilty by a Central Criminal Court jury of one count of sexual assault and one count of raping her in locations in Meath and Louth between January 2003 and December 2006 following a trial earlier this year.

The girl was between eight and ten years old at the time of the offending, while her uncle was in his thirties.

The complainant in the case described to the court how she started to suffer flashbacks of the abuse when she was a teenager and spent years in a “cycle of denial”, hoping it wasn’t true and fearful of telling her parents that a trusted family member had abused her.

She eventually confided in her younger sister, who had been present on the occasion her uncle raped her while babysitting them, and her sister confirmed her memories. She immediately told her father, and the gardaí were informed.

The man continues to maintain his innocence and does not accept the verdicts of the jury. He is currently serving a prison sentence for money laundering offences.

In her victim impact statement, which she read out in court earlier this month, the complainant—now in her twenties—said that while she was grateful for the case’s outcome, the entire trial process was extremely stressful.

She said she had to “relive the trauma over and over again”.

“I hope I never have to be put on the witness stand again for the rest of my life,” she said, adding it was the most terrifying thing she had ever experienced. “I could hear him breathing over my shoulder.”

“I feel physically sick at the thought of this man touching me or being in the same room as me.”

Sentencing the man on Friday, Mr Justice Paul Burns noted the “life-changing” effects of the abuse on the injured party. He also noted that she found the legal process stressful and that it had set back her recovery. He wished her well into the future and said he hoped she would recover further.

Mr Justice Burns said this case had involved a grave breach of trust, with one of the offences carried out with young children in close proximity. He set a headline sentence of 12 years.

The judge took into account in mitigation the man’s good work history and his family circumstances. He imposed an 11-year sentence and suspended the final year for three years.

A local garda detective told Michael Delaney SC, prosecuting, that the girl had a memory of being in her uncle’s bedroom when she was a child before she found herself face down on his bed with “pressure” inside her.

The man was charged with rape in relation to this count, but the jury found him guilty of sexual assault instead.

The second incident occurred in the girl’s own home when her uncle was babysitting her and her siblings. He raped her in the sitting room with the door open while her siblings were playing in the hall. He then asked them to get him some tissue before wiping the girl clean.

It was this incident that the complainant’s sister was able to remember, and she testified in relation to this during the trial.

When the matter was reported to gardaí, the complainant’s parents also remembered that the man had minded the children for them around this time, and the girl later asked them not to let him not babysit again.

The court heard the complainant started getting flashbacks when she was 15 and struggled with the memories of the abuse for years before she finally disclosed the abuse to her family.

The woman said that disclosing the abuse was a relief, but she also continued to struggle with sleep and would have days where she would just stay in bed for hours. Despite this, she has pursued her studies and career.

“I dislike the term victim, and I dislike the term survivor,” she said. “Although by definition I am both, I am neither.” She said she has worked really hard in her life to get where she is today despite everything that happened to her.

The court heard gardaí were alerted in April 2021, and the man was arrested in July that year. He denied any wrong-doing. He has 12 previous convictions, mostly for money laundering.

Padraig Dwyer SC, defending, said his client has two children and a good work history. He is using his time in custody productively and is studying, the court heard. He urged the judge to be as lenient as possible.