Westmeath man jailed for raping young daughter after 'grooming' her
A 50-year-old man has been jailed for 15 years for raping his now 10-year-old daughter who he groomed by showing her pornography.
The abuse happened in a Co Westmeath town 2-3 years ago, and came to light when the girl was taught in school about "good and bad secrets".
The man maintains his innocence and told gardaí that he believed the girl's mother “put her up to it”, claiming that his former partner had a “vendetta” against him.
However, a jury convicted him on five charges of abuse, having heard on one occasion he molested his daughter in a closet during a game of hide-and-seek.
He gave her alcohol and cigarettes and made her watch an adult film, which Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy described as "grooming".
He also raped her on a bed in his flat.
She was aged seven when the abuse began.
It ended when aged nine she told her mother what was happening after she became aware of the concept of good secrets and bad secrets in social and physical studies in school.
The judge described the offences as extremely serious and jailed the man for 15 years.
