Senan Hogan, 10 Jul
A Kildare man who “exploited” and used his six-year-old daughter for
“his own sexual gratification” has been jailed for ten years.
The 55-year-old man was found guilty by a jury of two counts of oral
rape of his then six-year-old daughter at his home on dates unknown
between June 6, 2020 and January 17, 2021.
He was also found guilty of one count of inviting a child to engage in
sexual touching during the same period.
The man, who cannot be named to protect his victim's identity, denied
all charges and does not accept the verdicts of a jury of the Central
Criminal Court sitting in Tullamore earlier this year.
Imposing sentence today, Justice David Keane said the man had acted in
an “opportunistic way” and used the victim for “his own sexual
gratification”. This was a breach of the trust between a father and
daughter, he said.
He noted the victim's young age and that the man “exploited” her in his
home, which should have been a “place of safety” for her. Judge Keane
also stated that the victim had been “profoundly harmed” by these
offences, according to the victim impact statement prepared by her
mother.
Justice Keane imposed a ten year sentence on both counts of oral rape
and a sentence of seven years for the count of inviting a child to
engage in sexual touching, all to run concurrently and backdated to
March 24.
He said he took into consideration the mitigation including the man's
health issues and his lack of similar previous convictions.
Justice Keane noted that the man is classed as low to moderate risk of
re-offending and will be a registered sex offender. He ordered the man
to undergo three years of supervision post-release and declined to
suspend a portion of the sentence as the defendant does not accept the
verdict of the jury, as it is “not possible to incentivise
rehabilitation”.
An investigating garda told Roisin Lacey SC, prosecuting, that the girl
and a sibling would go for overnight weekend visits to their father's
home.
The offending came to light when the victim told her older half-sister
and her mother that she was “in a secret club with Daddy”. Her mother
then called the man, who started to cry.
When the victim asked “do you remember the secret club, Daddy?”, he
called her “a liar” then pleaded with her mother not to do this as it
would “destroy” him.
The young girl was interviewed by specialist gardai and outlined two
separate incidents during which the man put his penis in her mouth. In
another incident, the man asked her if she wanted to “suck his private
part”, but she refused.
Following his arrest, the man denied the allegations. The court heard
that the victim rejected a defence suggestion during the trial that her
older half-sister made up the allegations because of a grudge against
the man.
The defendant has no previous convictions in Ireland, but has nine from
the United Kingdom, including four for burglary and theft, which date
back to the early 1990s.
A victim impact statement from the victim's mother was read to the
court by Ms Lacey. The woman said it has been “devastating” to learn
that her daughter had been abused and her world had “flipped upside
down”.
The woman said she feels she failed as a mother and her daughter's lost
innocence can never be replaced.
She said what has happened “can't be put in a box and dealt with
later”. “You have to learn to live with it. It's the loneliest place in
the world,” she said, adding that she is “left feeling isolated” and
has trust issues.
Her daughter is “trying to understand what happened to her”, gets angry
and frustrated and has started to have issues at school. The woman
said she worries for her daughter and how this could affect her into
the future.
The garda agreed with Damien Colgan SC, defending, that his client
chose not to have a solicitor present when interviewed by gardai. It
was also agreed that the man has two young children, including the
victim, and adult children from a previous relationship.
Mr Colgan told the court his client left school at an early age and has
a good work history. Since entering custody in March, he has worked in
the prison gardens, but is unable to do so at the moment due to an
injury.
Defence counsel noted that his client's future risk of re-offending is
difficult to assess as he does not accept responsibility.
He said while his client does not accept the verdict of the jury, there
are other mitigating factors that the court can consider including his
client's health issues.
Mr Colgan said his client does not intend to return to Kildare on
release. He asked the court to take into account that his client
offered gardai a level of co-operation and some concessions were made
during the trial to shorten the process.