A man who gave his daughter drugs and alcohol, repeatedly sexually assaulted her over a six-year period and raped her when she was 15 has nearly doubled his five-year sentence in the Appeals Court.
The chief prosecutor had argued in the three-judge court that the sentence imposed on Michael O’Donoghue, 43, was unreasonably lenient given the gravity of the crimes.
The victim, brave 20-yr-old Aimee Foley, cried when the original five-year sentence was handed down, and her family complained that the sentence was not good enough for what O’Donoghue had done.
She was in court during today’s hearing and sat next to her family while her father sat on the bench about four meters away.
According to RTE, she later said the new verdict “never be enough for me and my family” but offers a “sliver of justice”. She said sentencing for sexual offences in Ireland can be “appalling but today it has proven to work in my favour”.
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