Man jailed for raping sisters
"I went away to a nice place in my head with my friends to play with 'Cindy' dolls," was how a Waterford woman dealt with being raped by her brother who has been jailed for six years by Mr Justice Paul Carney.
Her now 47-year-old brother's sexual violation of two of his sisters ended when one of them brandished a knife and threatened to stab him if he ever came near her again.
Garda Janet O'Neill told prosecuting counsel, Mr Justin Dillon SC, at the Central Criminal Court that the accused said when arrested: "I have been waiting for the last ten years for what happened this morning - the dreaded knock on the door."
The man cannot be named for legal reasons and pleaded guilty to six sample charges of rape, one of attempted rape and five of indecent assault in relation to two of his sisters.
He had faced a total of 69 charges of rape, attempted rape and indecent assault of his sisters in the years 1970 to 1982. They were aged from nine to 17 years.
Mr Justice Carney noted that a probation report before the court indicated that the man's early offences on the two girls "may have commenced by way of experimentation" but he added that "clearly the latter offences are one in which he must take full moral and legal responsibility".
Mr Justice Carney said that considering the effect on his sisters and the nature of the crimes the offence warranted a 12-year prison term but he sentenced him to six years on the rape charges and a concurrent two-year term for the indecent assault, considering the man's co-operation with gardaí, lack of previous convictions and his early guilty plea.
He also declared the accused a sex offender and ordered that he carry out five years post-release supervision upon his release from prison.
Gda O'Neill told Mr Dillon one of the women described being raped by her brother as "like having a hot sharp knife forced into me". Her sister recalled "a burning pain" in her lower body when she was nine years old after he carried her upstairs and put her lying on a bed.
She spoke of her brother telling her "it was ok" and saying he wasn't going to hurt her when molesting her on a regular basis through touching and stroking her body and rubbing himself against her.
Neither of the victims wanted to exercise their right to address the court about their brother's offending but had detailed in their impact statement how it had affected their lives, variously causing them anxiety, depression, resource to alcohol and difficulty making close friends, among other problems.
"I have no peace in my life as a result of what was done to me," one of his sisters said in her statement.
Gda O'Neill agreed with defence counsel, Mr Michael Counihan SC, that the man immediately expressed remorse when arrested and apologised through the garda to his sisters.
He then moved to England with his family and was arrested there on foot of an extradition warrant but returned voluntarily after spending some time in English custody. He had been in custody in Ireland since his return earlier this year.
Mr Counihan pleaded with Mr Justice Carney to take his client's guilty pleas into account as well as his genuine expression of remorse and that he had never threatened his sisters with physical violence.
