Rape Crisis Centre hits out at length of Tom Humphries' prison sentence
The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre has criticised the leniency of the sentence handed down to Tom Humphries.
The former Irish Times journalist was jailed for two-and-a-half years for sexually abusing a young girl in his Dublin home after grooming her for two years.
Humphries, of Corr Castle, Sutton, Dublin pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to four counts of inviting a child to participate in a sexually explicit, obscene or indecent act between January 2010 and March 2011. This offence comes with a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
He also pleaded guilty to two counts of defilement of the child at a place in Dublin between December 5, 2010 and February 19, 2011.
These took place when the victim was aged around 16 and Humphries was aged 47.
Noeline Blackwell, from the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, said: "We may need to look at sentencing, but certainly just the implementation of sentencing is what's important about this case.
"A view was taken that because the person had had a high position that wasn't anymore, that seemed to be the key that was deciding the length of the sentence, not the level of harm that this man purposely did many, many times to a young girl."
In 2015, Niamh Nic Dhomhnail's ex-boyfriend Magnus Meyer Hustveit was given a seven-year suspended sentence after admitting several counts of rape and sexual assault. The following year his sentence was raised to 15 months in prison after the DPP said that the sentence was "unduly lenient".
Niamh says days like today undoubtedly make it harder for victims to come forward.
She said: "Whatever I have read seems to go into great detail into how Tom Humphries has been affected by this. The judgement mentioned he has lost his livelihood, his reputation, the judge considered letters from close friends and considered the impact on his family and his health issues.
"And at the very end, from the news reports that I have seen, there was a small amount on the damage done and the harm done to the individual in question.
"It just shows that they don't get it."
