A man who sexually abused and raped two of his sisters, his niece and his two daughters in offending that spanned four decades has been jailed for life.
Richard O’Brien (61) denied all the offences but was convicted unanimously by a jury following a trial earlier this year. His five victims on Monday waived their right to anonymity so he could be named.
The Central Criminal Court heard that the abuse of O’Brien’s two sisters – Theresa and Anne O’Brien – and niece, Mary O’Brien, occurred at his family home at O’Moore Road, Ballyfermot, Dublin and continued until each of the three women ran away as teenagers.
The women described growing up in a dysfunctional home where there was neglect, physical abuse and little point in disclosing the sexual abuse they were suffering at the hands of their brother.
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They outlined how terrified they were of O’Brien, who also physically assaulted them. His sisters told how he had wrung the necks of a puppy and a kitten belonging to them during their childhood.
In a victim impact statement, Theresa O’Brien said: “Hate is a big word, but I hate what he done to me... He was my big brother and should have minded me and my sisters, but he did the opposite.”
In her victim impact statement, Anne O’Brien told the court she bears the scars of self-harm as a result of the devastating effect of the years of abuse by her brother. She told him: “May you rot in hell.”
Mary O’Brien lived in the family home and said she was five or six when the accused first abused her. She described him as a man who had a fascination with frightening women. She was raped by her uncle and the abuse ended in 1991 when she left to live on the streets.
In her victim impact statement, she said she was happy to be able to tell her story and to be taking control.
O’Brien went on to sexually abuse and rape his daughters – Agnes and Sonya O’Brien – until they were taken into care. Agnes later told her foster mother that she had been sexually abused by her father, and gardaí were alerted. Her younger sister, aunts and cousin also came forward at that point.
In her victim impact statement, Agnes O’Brien said her father had ruined so many parts of her life but she now hoped to get some closure and justice. In her statement, Sonya O’Brien said she once thought what was happening to her was normal and that her family home had been like hell. She said her father had stolen her childhood from her.
O’Brien, of Cremona Road, Ballyfermot, was convicted by a jury of 63 counts of rape, sexual assault and indecent assault against the five victims on dates between 1975 and 2011.
Passing sentence, Judge Mary Ellen Ring noted the harrowing evidence heard during the trial and the immense damage caused to each of the victims. She told them they had nothing to be ashamed of and had done nothing wrong.
“The only person in this courtroom who should be ashamed is Richard O’Brien.”
She told the women they should not worry about what others have to say and reminded them that the 12 men and women on the jury had believed their evidence.
Ms Justice Ring told the older women that despite what had happened to them as children, and without parental role models, they had become wonderful mothers and grandmothers and this was a terrific achievement.
“Stop giving time and headspace to Richard O’Brien,” she told them.
She told them they had achieved so much against the odds, the time is now to let those achievements in and their brother out. She wished them well into the future.
Turning to O’Brien, she noted he had abused positions of trust as an older brother, an uncle and a father. She noted that he faced spending the remaining years of his life in jail and that he had medical issues. She took into account medical reports and letters from family members handed into court.
Ms Justice Ring noted O’Brien had shown no remorse and no acceptance of what he had done. She said the offending against his two daughters had been “at the very apex” of the serious offence of rape.
She said he was an adult by the time he began abusing his own daughters, perhaps damaged by neglect but now building his own family. He had made a conscious decision to rape and sexually assault his own flesh and blood until social services intervened, she said.
She said there a continued failure on his part to recognise the damage done.
Ms Justice Ring imposed a life sentence in relation to the rape offences committed by O’Brien on his two daughters. She imposed concurrent sentences totalling 11 years in relation to the other offending.