Man raped his daughter while she was recovering from serious leg burns
By Aoife Nic Ardghail
A Wicklow man who raped his daughter while she was recovering from serious leg burns has been jailed for 13 years for abusing her and her young cousin.
The Central Criminal Court heard that the man (55), who cannot be named to protect his victims' identities, got into his daughter's bed and raped her just after she had spent two weeks in hospital with her injuries.
He sexually abused her on a weekly basis over a five-year period between 1988 and 1995, beginning when she was aged seven.
The girl had begun to fight off his sexual advances as she got older but was physically unable to do so after returning from hospital with her leg in bandages.
The man pleaded guilty to five sample charges of rape, and to indecent assault and sexual assault of his daughter over the period.
He also pleaded guilty to two charges of rape and one of indecent assault of his niece on dates from June 1986 to May 1988 when she was aged between eight and 10 years old.
He has no previous convictions.
The court heard that he sexually assaulted his niece on one occasion when he got her alone after playing with her and her other cousins. The victim recalled being confused, scared and sore with lots of blood on her underwear.
On a second occasion the man raped her on the bathroom floor of her own home, telling her that “this is what your dad does to your mam”.
He raped his niece a second time while she was having a sleepover with his daughter. She described the pain from this attack as if she had been stabbed and said she suffered hair loss afterwards.
The man's daughter said her earliest memory of the abuse was when she was seven years old after a shower. Her father followed her into her bedroom, pulled her towel off her and sexually assaulted her.
Afterwards, he threw the towel in her face. The court heard that from then, the man sexually assaulted her and told her not to tell her mother.
Today, Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy paid tribute to the now adult victims in displaying courage and fortitude in the face of the defendant's “despicable” crimes.
Ms Justice Kennedy said the aggravating factors of the case were the young ages of the victims, the physical harm and pain the accused caused them and his abuse of trust both as a father and uncle.
She said he had shown no mercy to either child and had totally disregarded the happiness, health and well-being of two little girls.
Ms Justice Kennedy took into account the man's lack of previous convictions, his early guilty pleas, his remorse and that he has sought counselling.
She backdated the sentence to when he entered custody and ordered that he undergo four years post release supervision.
