Man who sexually abused his own sister in childhood gets sentenced to nine years in prison – TheLiberal.ie – Our News, Your Views

Man who sexually abused his own sister in childhood gets sentenced to nine years in prison




A Wicklow man who sexually abused his younger sister in her childhood last attacked her 10 years later when she was heavily pregnant, the Central Criminal Court heard, reports Breaking News.

The 71-year-old man, whose name cannot be identified to protect his victim’s anonymity, was sentenced on Monday to nine years with the last year suspended.

The court heard that the man had stopped raping her sister when she was 14 for fear of getting her pregnant, but he continued to assault her indecently until she met the man she then married.

The defendant was convicted by a jury of 69 counts of indecent assault and rape at the family home in County Wicklow, between 1964 and 1973. The last indecent assault occurred in 1983.

Handing down the sentence on Monday, Judge Paul McDermott said the woman had lived “a horrible existence” during the years of her abuse and her devastation to her was clear, reports Breaking News.

He said the defendant had made full use of his authority over the younger sister he was supposed to care for and only stopped when he met an older boy.

Judge McDermott noted that the parole report says the man claims not guilty but accepted the verdicts. He said there was little to no genuine remorse and that he had shown no real understanding of him hurting her, other than acknowledging that his sister must have been hurt, reports Breaking News.

Judge McDermott said that the blame for the damage and negative consequences rests entirely with the offender who carried them out.

Gerardine Small SC, Prosecution, was informed by a Garda investigator that the defendant had been forcing her sister to have sex with him weekly since the age of 10. He stopped raping her when she was 14 out of fear of pregnancy, but continued to force her to perform sexual acts, reports Breaking News.

The lawyer said the man accepts that his sister was seriously injured. He has no criminal record.

Mr. Colgan delivered a large number of testimony and medical reports. He said his client has been rated at medium risk of reoffending and will make use of the services available to him, reports Breaking News.

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