Cork girl praised for bravery after uncle jailed for rape
The victim was 10 years of age when the offences took place, the court was told. File picture: Larry Cummins
The bravery of a girl who made a complaint of being raped at the age of 10 by her uncle was commended as the 44-year-old culprit was jailed for seven years.
Ms Justice Siobhán Lankford imposed a sentence of eight and a half years with the final 18 months suspended at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork.
“I have to commend her bravery and her mother for the swift action she took in this case,” Judge Lankford said.
Investigated by Detective Garda Martin Bohane, the accused man first co-operated with the investigation, telling Tusla from the outset that he did rape his niece but when interviewed formally by gardaí two years later he made no admissions across four interviews on the advice of his solicitor.
Ultimately, he pleaded guilty to raping his niece on two occasions and one related count of sexual assault.
Ms Justice Lankford imposed two concurrent seven-year sentences on the rape counts and took the sexual assault into consideration.
“She was 10 years old when she was talking to her mother on August 29, 2018, about changes that occur in the body at puberty. During that conversation, she disclosed that her uncle had come into her bedroom when he was staying overnight at their home.
“She told her mother that he touched her private parts and — in her own words — he put his in hers, and she pointed to her private parts,” the judge said.
The dates identified for two such events when the accused came into the child’s bedroom and raped her were between July 19 and 22, 2018, and then again between August 2 and 3, 2018.
The matter was referred to Tusla and the defendant was interviewed. He was described as frank in the replies that he made in November 2019, accepting the allegations and what the child said had happened. He said he was “blind drunk” at the time.
However, the judge said that after stating that he was blind drunk the first time he raped his niece, he then went back on an occasion shortly afterwards and raped her again.
In making these admissions in November 2019, he said he did not want the family to go through this any further.
But almost two years later — in September 2021 — when gardaí interviewed him on four separate occasions, “he made no admissions on the advice of his solicitor,” Ms Justice Lankford said in sentencing.
On April 10 this year, he pleaded guilty to the rapes and sexual assault.
The injured party who is now 16 said in her victim impact statement that before this she was a quiet and shy girl but afterwards she withdrew into herself and found it really hard to trust people, especially men. Every time she enters her bedroom she gets flashbacks of the terrible things done to her by her uncle and she would have to live with this burden.
Ray Boland, defence senior counsel, said the accused had a good work history and had a partner but lost contact with her.
Ms Justice Lankford said mitigating factors which also included the pleas of guilty which spared the victim the distress of a trial, and his letter expressing his apology and remorse, reduced the headline sentence from twelve and a half years to eight and a half years, with the last 18 months suspended.
The accused cannot be named as it would identify the victim.
