A Kerry man who repeatedly raped his wife's niece from the age of nine has been jailed for 10 years.
The 61-year-old man pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to four sample charges from a total of 13 charges of raping the girl on dates between 1990 and 1994.
Mr Justice Alex Owens said “very significant harm” had been done to the victim, who's now 41-years-old, and that she has suffered “significant psychological symptoms” as a result.
He said there had been a gross breach of trust and that the man “selected a victim who was young and vulnerable.”
Mr Justice Owens noted the man had a mild intellectual disability and would find imprisonment more difficult as a result.
He said it was clear there was no remorse.
He noted the man admitted to having a sexual interest in teenage girls and so he could not regard him as being at a low risk of re-offending.
Mr Justice Owens sentenced the man to 11 years' imprisonment but suspended the final year on strict conditions, including that he wouldn't have unsupervised access to children.
He also ordered that the man be subject to three years' post release supervision by the Probation Service. The judge said a failure to comply with this order carries a maximum sentence of 12 months' imprisonment.
The victim told gardaí she used to regularly visit him and his wife, who was her aunt, in their home and often slept in the same bed as them.
Once her aunt got up in the morning, her uncle, who was 30 at the time, would hold on tightly onto her hips and rape her.
The offending came to an end when she started a part-time job as a 13-year-old and stopped staying in her aunt's home.
Desmond Dockery, prosecuting senior counsel, read the woman's victim impact statement into the record in which she said:
"I can’t believe that at 40 years of age I can finally talk about the impact (the rapes) have had on me. Every day is a struggle. I am still discovering all the ways the abuse has affected me”.
“Putting it into words feels impossible as it feels unreal. Every day is a battle,” the woman said before she added that a smell or a photo or a word could act as a trigger and she would be “flooded with anxiety and panic”.
She said she often feels suicidal and thinks her family would be better off without her. She finds herself unable to work and she often worries that she won’t be able to function.
The woman said she blames herself so much for what happened and “mentally beats myself”.
She said there has been an impact on her children as they have missed out on having a mother as she is “emotionally unavailable” to them. She has not allowed them the freedom to be children as she worries for them.
“I remain tortured by the abuse. It has left me crippled with shame and guilt. I finally told my husband four years ago as the alternative was to kill myself,” the woman continued.
She said she sometimes feels like she is re-living the abuse and has to re-assure herself on an ongoing basis that she is safe. She suffers nightmares and flashbacks and is often unable to sleep.
“It feels like a life sentence at times and impacts on everything I do,” the woman said.
“I am determined not to be defined by my abuse but I am worried that it will always define me. I want to live my life free from anxiety,” she continued.
She thanked her husband for his unconditional love as well as the prosecution team and especially investigating gardaí.
At a previous sentencing hearing, an investigating garda said he was alerted to the allegations when colleagues handed him video files which showed the man admitting to the victim's parents that he'd abused her.
The garda agreed with Anthony Sammon defending senior counsel that his client’s “roadside admissions” were of great significance to the investigation and that his plea of guilty was a great relief to the victim.
Mr Sammon asked the judge to accept that a probation report before the court concluded that his client was “not quite the full shilling” but acknowledged that he still has the capacity to offend.
He said his client regretted what he'd done and had some insight into the damage he's caused although his intellectual functioning affects his ability to display remorse.
*** If you are affected by this report, you may contact the Kerry Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre at 1800 633 333 or the Samaritans at 116 123.
