A Galway man has been sentenced to nine years in prison after pleading guilty to sexually abusing and raping his teenage nephew seven years ago, reports RTE.
The 51-year-old, whose name cannot be released to protect the identity of the victim, confessed to anal rape on an unknown date between June 1, 2016 and June 1, 2017 in Galway.
He also pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault and one count of sexual abuse during the same period.
The Central Criminal Court considered that the victim was between 14 and 15 years old at the time, reports RTE.
The crimes took place in several locations, including the defendant’s car, his home, the horse stall, and the victim’s home.
Once, when a man was groping his nephew, he said to the boy, “Don’t say anything or I could go to jail,” reports RTE.
The violence came to light in 2017 when the victim’s family became concerned about a change in her behavior.
The court heard that the boy had gone from “happy go lucky” to someone who had misbehaved. The boy told his older sister about the abuse but initially refused to report it to the Gardaí.
The man voluntarily went to the local police station and confessed to indecently assaulting the boy three times. He was arrested in November 2018 and interrogated three times.
The man pleaded guilty at trial last March after a jury panel. No previous convictions.
The investigating gardai read out the victim’s statement to the court. The complainant stated that the abuse had affected his mental health and family relationships. He said he was difficult to contact and “wanted to forget everything”, reports RTE.
Ms. Justice Karen O’Connor thanked the victim for preparing his testimony. She said his change in behaviour and anger was “not unusual” but a “typical reaction for a child who does not know how to react”, reports RTE.
She noted that a huge number of family members were in court to support the victim and encouraged him to rely on their support.
“They are giving you support because they love you and want you to be able to move on with your life,” she said, reports RTE.
She imposed a sentence of nine and a half years in prison and suspended the last six months under strict conditions.
The defence attorney said his client apologized to the victim for “shameful and disgraceful behaviour” and the resulting damage, reports RTE.
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