Former army reservist who 'breached and abused trust' jailed for defilement of underage cousin
A Dublin man who was convicted of having sex with his underage cousin has been jailed for three and a half years for defilement.
The man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the now 21-year-old woman, was convicted by a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court jury last month on four charges of defilement and one charge of sexual exploitation of a child on dates between September 2012 and February 2014.
The girl was aged 15 when her then 23-year-old cousin first had sex with her. She had been living with her grandmother because her parents were not fit to look after her.
The court heard that the pair had sex a number of times when she was a minor. There was evidence of texts sent from her to him saying they had to stop and what they were doing was wrong.
When he texted her back he asked her for her reasons and she replied: “cos you're my cousin, it's kinda sick”.
The man was involved with the Life Guard and Army Reserves and a reference from members of the Civil Defence was handed into court. It wasn't stated in court whether or not these referees were aware of the prosecution or conviction.
The man accepts the verdict of the jury but has not apologised to the victim or shown remorse for his actions.
Judge Elma Sheahan said the victim was a troubled child in need of parenting and support at that time and her grandparents and uncle had tried to provide her with this support.
“She was vulnerable, while he was on solid ground,” the judge said, referring to the accused.
"He was stable and held a solid position within the family unit. He was in a position to have known better and must, in fact, have known better,” Judge Sheahan continued.
She said the offences “must have created great confusion and sadness in her mind. She was playing dual roles on a daily basis”.
The judge accepted that the man had a previously unblemished character and acknowledged that many testimonials handed up on his behalf demonstrated that he was both respected within his family and work units.
She acknowledged that the man never used force on his cousin but noted that there was a disparity in age between them and added that he had “breached and abused the trust” he had been placed in with her.
Judge Sheahan sentenced the man to three and a half years in prison for the defilement offences and a concurrent term of a year for the charge of child sexual exploitation. She said she had considered suspending a portion of the term but said she was unable to do so because the man had expressed no remorse.
“He has not apologised and shown remorse, displaying a complete lack of insight into the harm he has done and despite the fact that he says he accepts the verdict of the jury," Judge Sheehan said.
In her victim impact statement, the woman revealed she lost her sense of stability and her peace of mind as a result of the abuse.
“I wanted to be cared for and I was taken advantage of. I thought if I spoke up I wouldn’t be believed,” she said.
An investigating garda told the court that the case has “ripped the family apart”.
