Victim’s childhood was ‘stolen’ by employer who raped him

By Fiona Ferguson

A man who sexually abused a young employee has been jailed for eight years.

Barry Wheeler (49), formerly of Cabra Drive, Dublin 7, pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to anal and oral rape of the teenage boy on dates between August and October 2001.

Wheeler, who more recently has been residing at an address in Birmingham, United Kingdom, ran a business at the time of the offending and kept rickshaws at Seville Place, Dublin 1 at that time.

The court heard the injured party wishes to retain their anonymity but had no issue with Wheeler being identified and is satisfied they are not identifiable from the facts of the case.

Mr Justice Tony Hunt commended the fortitude shown by the injured party in reporting the abuse and telling the court of the impacts on his life.

He said he hoped the conclusion of the case would allow him to move on and make the best of the balance of his life.

He said Wheeler has abused a position of trust and authority as an employer.

He said it was evident the injured party continued to carry the consequence of the abuse for many years.

He said the abuse had profound and lasting effects on virtually every aspect of the complainant’s adult life.

He noted in sentencing factors including the fact the injured party was a child, the disparity in age, the multiple incidents, that it happened over a period of time and the impact on the injured party.

Mr Justice Hunt set a headline sentence of 12 years.

He noted in mitigation the guilty pleas and that Wheeler had co-operated with the investigation.

He imposed a nine-year sentence and suspended the final year on strict conditions, including no contact with the injured party.

An investigating garda told Michael Hourican SC, prosecuting, that the injured party worked for Wheeler at his business when he was aged around 14 to 15 years old.

Wheeler was in his mid-twenties at the time.

The garda outlined the injured party had been subjected to acts of oral and anal rape and sexual assault by Wheeler at the accused man’s home and at his business premises.

The gardai said the man made a statement to gardai in 2023 and an investigation began.

Wheeler was interviewed by gardai and denied any involvement. He said the allegations were born of malice as he had not been paying employees correctly.

In his victim impact statement, the injured party said his childhood and teenage years had been stolen from him.

He said his life imploded and the world turned upside down due to the actions of Wheeler. He said his innocence had been stolen and the abuse destroyed him as a person.

He said he felt “manic” after reporting the abuse, thinking about it daily. He said it was only in the past year he had come to understand the trauma of what Wheeler inflicted on him.

Giollaíosa Ó Lideadha SC, defending, handed in testimonials and said they described a man who has shown kindness to a friend and to his mother who had been ill for a time.

He asked the court to take into account his pleas of guilty and said if any part of the sentence was suspended, Wheeler intended to return to the United Kingdom. He said Wheeler had travelled from the UK for court dates and always showed up.

He submitted there was an absence of aggravating factors present in more serious cases and the accused man had not reoffended.

He handed in documents outlining Wheeler’s background and difficulties he suffered.