18 months for man who sexually abused cousin who waited for passing of mother and aunt before reporting it

Garda Kayleigh McCarthy said the woman, who emigrated to England as a young adult, first made a complaint to gardaí in Christmas 2018 when she was at home in Ireland visiting. Judge Melanie Greally noted that “out of kindness to her aunt and mother” the victim had waited until both her mother and her aunt had died before reporting the abuse.

Gda McCarthy said the victim had previously written to her cousin and he replied to her admitting his guilt and apologising. He also thanked her for not disclosing the abuse to his mother.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that he also spoke to various members of the extended family, during an occasion in which they had gathered together, and apologised for his behaviour.

Judge Greally said it was a very unusual case in terms of the admission of guilt the accused had made.

“Out of kindness to her aunt and her mother, she waited until their passing”, Judge Greally said.

She said that the woman had outlined, in her victim impact statement, the “extreme emotional suffering” she has experienced in her adult life, “for which she sought much-needed help”.

“I fully take into account the pain that has been inflicted on her by the accused's actions,” Judge Greally said.

She noted that the maximum sentence available to the court, under the law which existed at the time, is two years.

She sentenced the man to consecutive sentences totalling three years. She said she was taking into account the very serious nature of the sexual abuse, the breach of trust involved, her youth, the differences in their age, the length of time over which the abuse occurred and the severe impact of the abuse on her.

Judge Greally suspended the final 18 months of the sentence having given the man credit for his guilty pleas, his absence of convictions, his remorse, his age at the time, the lapse of time since the offence, his employment and a psychological report.

Gda McCarthy told Maddie Grant BL, prosecuting, that the woman told gardaí she used to stay nearly every weekend and over the summer holidays with her aunt and her family while she was between 10 and 12 years old.

She said during that time the accused would regularly come into the bedroom she was sleeping in, put his penis in her mouth and touch her vagina underneath her underwear.

The woman said she stopped staying over with her aunt when she was about 14 years old. She realised what her cousin was doing was wrong and she didn't want the abuse to continue.

She said her aunt and her mother were very close and she was very close to her aunt. She waited until they had died before she reported the incident to police in England who advised her that she needed to make contact with the gardaí.

Gda McCarthy agreed with Ms Grant that the abuse had a significant impact on the woman who has had difficulty with alcohol and has received psychiatric help over the years. A victim impact report was handed into court but the woman had asked that it not be read out.

Gda McCarthy said the man was arrested, made admissions and expressed remorse for his behaviour.

She agreed with Kevin McCrave BL, defending, that his client was 19 or 20 years old at the time of the abuse and had replied to his cousin's letter admitting his guilt and apologising.

Mr McCrave said his client now works as a caretaker and continues to live in the family home with his brother. He had been caring for both his parents but they have since died.

A psychological report prepared for the case concluded that he was a vulnerable man who was at very low risk of “future sexual offending”.