Waterford man jailed for 10 years for abusing niece
A Waterford man has been jailed for 10 years by Mr Justice Paul Carney at the Central Criminal Court for the oral rape and sexual assault of his niece.
The 43-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to 23 sample charges dealing with offences he committed from 1991 to 1998 in Co Waterford. The victim was aged eight to 15 years
Mr Justice Carney said that any publicity identifying the man and therefore the victim would be unlawful.
He directed that the man be registered as a sex offender and said that in imposing penalty he took account of the breach of trust involved, the age of the victim, the disparity in their ages as well as the effect the crimes had on the victim.
Mr Justice Carney imposed terms of 10 years each on the rape counts with five years for the sex assault offences and refused leave to appeal severity of sentence. All the sentences are to run concurrently.
Defence counsel, Mr Patrick Gageby SC, said his client was a man who had progressed well in his profession but was now a disgraced person in his home town.
Mr Gageby said the man admitted to close family members that he had acted wrongly. He had pleaded guilty and was very remorseful for his offending which had destroyed their families.
Garda Joyce Donoghue told prosecuting counsel, Ms Isobel Kennedy SC (with Ms Caroline Biggs BL) that the victims made two statements of complaint to the gardaí.
Gda Donoghue said the woman told gardaí that her uncle tried full sexual intercourse on her but couldn't conclude it. She said he never wore condoms.
The victim said that when she babysat for him and his wife he would get into her bed and sexually assault her and she told of sexual assaults in his office after he would tie her hands together and around her eyes.
Gda Donoghue said the victim told how her uncle would put 'Vaseline' on his penis and she recalled him showing her a porn video on a Sunday morning when other family members were at Mass.
She also recalled an occasion when her father returned to the house while her uncle was sexually abusing her in a bedroom and in a panic he told her to say she was showing him something on her computer.
Gda Donoghue said that the victim's father recalled an occasion when he met the girl's uncle coming down the stairs and he gave that explanation for his presence.
Gda Donoghue said that when the story of his sex offending broke in family circles, he sent the victim a text message telling her he was sorry for his offending and hoping she would have it in her heart to forgive him.
