Grandfather jailed for seven years for the sexual abuse of his granddaughters 

By Sonya McLean  

A young woman who was one of two sisters that she was sexually abused by her grandfather has said that he “deserve every horrible thing that happens” to him and that she hates him for what he did to them. 

The now 22-year-old woman read her victim impact statement into the record of the sentence hearing of her grandfather who was jailed for seven years yesterday. 

The 79-year-old Dublin man pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to 11 counts of sexual abuse against both girls on dates between 2006 and 2020.

The older girl was aged between three and 12 years old during the abuse, while her younger sister, who is now 13 years old, was aged between five and eight years old. 

The offences occurred in his Dublin home and the girls’ family home in Cavan. 

The man had denied the charges and did not plead guilty until the second day of the trial after a jury was sworn.

The complainants had not given evidence at that point. 

The abuse came to light in 2020 when the younger sister learned about “touches” and “keeping secrets” in school and told a teacher that her grandfather had been touching her inappropriately.

The parents were alerted and they later spoke to the girl’s older sister who confirmed then that she had also been sexually abused by the man. 

A local garda told Dominic McGinn SC, prosecuting, that the touching involved the man initially tickling the girls and escalated to touching their breasts and genital area both inside and outside of their clothing. 

The older girl was interviewed by specialist gardaí in May 2020 and her younger sister was interviewed the following month.

The older girl said that for “as long as I can remember” her grandfather had been molesting her.

She said it happened “every time we were alone together”. 

She said at one point she recalled her grandfather exposing his erect penis.

He told her not to tell anyone about the abuse as she would not be believed. 

 The man was arrested in October 2020 and interviewed but made no admissions.

The case was given a priority trial date because of the young age of the girls but was delayed. 

The older sister read her victim impact statement into the record.

She said she struggled to understand what was happening as a young child and she was sworn to secrecy.

She said she had intended to keep that secret to her grave. 

She said the secret followed her around and left her with “a desperate need and want for control” which led to her developing an eating disorder.

She spoke how on some days she would eat nothing more than a biscuit with a cup of tea, while other days she ate nothing at all. 

She said she believed the abuse was her own fault and because her grandmother, the defendant’s wife, had taught her that good people go to heaven and bad people go to hell.

She worried about dying because she feared she would go to hell. 

She described suffering panic attacks as a child but she would have to “choke them down in silence” because if anyone heard she would not be able to explain what was wrong with her. 

She said she suffered “immense guilt for my sister’s suffering”.

“I don’t have to imagine what happened to her, I know,” she continued before she added she felt sick to her stomach because of this. 

The woman said she has since been diagnosed with a particular condition that has left her in chronic pain and this condition can be attributed to stress.

She is on medication for her condition and she once overdosed on that medication. She described feelings of stress, panic attacks and depression. 

She spoke of how many people in the family did not believe her and her sister, including their grandmother, the accused’s wife. She said all but one of her uncles have sided with her grandfather. 

She said she refused to have anything to do with people who stand alongside a paedophile. 

The woman spoke of the difficulty of having the trial “hanging over our heads”. 

Speaking to her grandfather she said she doesn’t care about what sentence he may get.

“If what my grandmother, your wife, told me is true about heaven and hell, then I know exactly where you are going.” 

 “You deserve every horrible thing that happens you. I hate you for what you did to me and my sister,” the woman said. 

 The complainants’ mother read a victim impact statement on behalf of the second victim. 

She said that their lives have been turned upside down and thrown into chaos as “a result of my girls being sexually abused by their grandfather”. 

She said the fact that the man denied the offences and made liars out of her daughters “added salt to the wound”. 

She said she had left her daughters with their grandfather – her father-in-law – in the knowledge they would be kept safe and cared for.

She said the man had broken all boundaries and trust and the fact that other family members don’t believe the girls’ accounts hurt her daughters even more. 

 She described it as being like a bereavement for her children. She said her marriage has broken down as a result of the case and her son feels responsible that he was not able to protect his sisters. 

 She spoke of how the trial process left both of her daughters under a lot of stress and anxiety. 

“He took their innocence away. This broke our hearts.

“He abused his position as their grandfather.

“The girls could not understand why they had to go through the court system because they were telling the truth.

“He could have avoided all of this by pleading guilty,” the woman continued. 

 She said her eldest daughter had to sit her leaving certificate knowing that her grandfather was denying the offences. 

 She described her daughter’s eating disorder as “a big worry for me”. “I could see she was not in a good place. I just wanted to take the pain away from her.

“I would have done anything to stop this nightmare for my girls,” the woman continued. 

 “There are no winners or losers in this situation.

“I hope he gets what he deserves. I hope he gets taken off the streets so he cannot inflict this pain and torture, like he did on my girls, on any other children,” the woman concluded her statement. 

Judge Elva Duffy imposed consecutive sentences of three years for the sexual assault of the younger girl and four years for the assault on the older girl. 

She commended the girls and their mother on their bravery and dignity throughout the process. 

“Nothing this court does can take away the suffering,” Judge Duffy said. 

She noted that the offending only came to an end when the younger girl disclosed the abuse following her understanding through school that what was happening to her was wrong. 

She said the offences represented a constant stream of abuse of these two children – “one being replaced by another”. 

Judge Duffy described the victim impact statements as “moving and eloquent” and later added that she noted the “powerful consequences” the abuse had on both girls. 

She said it was of fundamental importance that anyone who has listened to the man’s denials, realises that he has now accepted full responsibility for what he has done.

She acknowledged that the family was torn apart while the man continued to deny the offences. 

“He is the person who brought these acts to bear,” Judge Duffy said before she accepted evidence that his marriage has since broken up. 

 She said the man’s acceptance of guilt will not change what happened to the young girls or bring back the innocence of the childhood that they should have been allowed. 

 “I am very conscious of their bravery,” Judge Duffy said before she again acknowledged the pain the girls experienced, noting the family break-up and the distress that caused. 

 Padraig Dwyer SC, defending, said his client publicly confirms his guilt, “although it has taken a while he takes full responsibility for what was a serious breach of trust, which has left the victims with very serious consequences for their health and happiness”. 

 Counsel said that the victim and her mother spoke eloquently and acknowledged the “untold damage” his client’s actions have had on the family. 

 “He is aware and appreciates the suffering he has caused to his grandchildren,” Mr Dwyer said. 

 He asked Judge Duffy to take into account his client’s late plea of guilty and reports before the court that conclude that he is at a low risk of re-offending.