A man who sexually abused his own daughter for seven years in an “ultimate betrayal of trust” has been jailed for eight and a half years, reports RTE.
The 77-year-old pleaded guilty in the Central Criminal Court to four counts of sexual abuse between 1991 and 1997, when the girl was aged between six and 13.
The court found that the allegations related to a sample from the period in which the offence occurred and that the applicant in this case had blocked many memories related to the abuse in order to enable her to function in life.
The man, who cannot be named to protect his daughter’s identity, worked as a carer at a local primary school for 30 years, the court heard.
He is still married to her mother, who is at court to support him.
Sentencing him, Judge Melanie Grealey said disclosing sexual abuse by a parent was “one of the most difficult and conflicting decisions a person can be called on to make”, reports RTE.
He said the woman should be “strongly commended for breaking the stronghold of secrecy, for breaking her silence and making her father accountable for his actions” and noted her relationship with her mother has been “tarnished irreparably”.
Judge Greeley said the man’s abuse of her daughter should be “seen as the ultimate betrayal of trust”, citing the harm it caused her.
The judge set a headline sentence of 14 years in prison, but reduced it to eight and a half years, taking into account several mitigating factors, including the man’s guilty plea, his remorse, advanced age and health problems.
In her victim impact statement, which she read at an earlier sentencing hearing, the woman described how she came to police in 2021 and “”divulged the horrible secrets I had held on to for 25 years”.
“I look at my own children and recognise that it is not normal for a child to be so terrified to go asleep…It is not normal for a child to want to hide in the boot of their mother’s car all night so they won’t be left at home with their father,” reports RTE.
The woman stated that her father’s abuse made her feel “unlovable, vulnerable and alone”. “My father let me down.”
She said that when she finally told her mother about the abuse, she was afraid her mother would leave her. Ultimately, she claims, the harassment irreparably damaged their relationship.
“Whatever bond we had is shattered by my father’s actions,” she said, adding there are “precious few” subjects they can now discuss. “I’m grateful to be here today to stand up for the six-year-old girl who was so scared and alone in her bedroom at night,” she said, reports RTE.
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