Man sentenced for sex assault on daughter after 35 years of trials
A pensioner has given a been a two-year sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court after 35 years and four trials for sexually assaulting his daughter.
The 71-year-old man had pleaded not guilty to seven counts of sexually assaulting his then eight-year-old daughter between August 1974 and August 1976 at their Dublin home.
He was convicted by a jury in January after three failed trials. His counsel, Ms Isobel Kennedy SC (with Ms Suzanne Fleury BL) told the court that her client still maintains his innocence.
Judge Patrica Ryan said the offences were a breech of trust and the victim had been abused from the age of eight over a long period of time.
She noted the testimonials from family and friends and the accused man’s good work history.
Judge Ryan imposed the maximum sentence applicable to the offences of two year's imprisonment. She ordered that he be placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years after his release.
Sergeant David O'Reilly told prosecuting counsel, Ms Gerardine Small BL, that the man would enter the girl's room and get into bed beside her. She would pretend to be asleep and he would put his hands under her clothes and molest her.
She would never react and would continue to pretend to be asleep and could feel him moving up and down against her.
In 2002 the woman went to gardaí and made a statement detailing the abuses. Gardaí arrested and interviewed her father but he denied all allegations.
The now 44-year-old woman read out a statement in court saying she lived in fear of her father, calling him “an angry, abusive and sometimes violent man”.
She said his actions had caused a split in the family and made her question her sanity.
She said he never gave her a positive comment or affection and his abuse made her weak resulting in her spending several years in a very bad marriage.
Ms Kennedy said the case had caused her client great anxiety and said he was in poor health with reduced mobility.
She said he had worked throughout his life in various jobs and had no previous convictions.
