A husband and wife have been jailed for 9½ years each for the defilement and sexual exploitation of their 15-year-old son.
Judge Sinead McMullan imposed the sentences on Friday having heard earlier in the week that the father used his phone to record his wife having sex with the teenager twice on the same day.
At a Circuit Court in the midlands, Judge McMullan said the offences involved a huge breach of trust and abuse of power by the mother and father, who are both in their 30s
“You cannot think of a greater breach of trust,” said the judge.
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Judge McMullan said the victim was entitled to feel safe in his home, but this entitlement was “violated in a most egregious manner”.
The judge said the teenager had complied with the request to have sex with his mother because he was afraid he would be hit. She said video recording of the act was a huge aggravating factor and increased the degradation.
The victim had been forced to flee his family home on a dark winter’s night and cycle to his friend’s house to tell what happened.
The judge said there was a “level of depravity” in the offences that is “truly difficult to comprehend”.
She sentenced them each to 9½ years for defilement, the same for sexual exploitation and four years for child cruelty. the father was also sentenced to six years for aiding and abetting and six years for the offence of producing child pornography. All of the sentences run concurrently.
The only compelling mitigating factors were early guilty pleas but these were tempered by probation reports that indicated both parents had limited remorse and insight into what they had done, the judge said.
Neither of the accused can be named in order to protect the identity of the victim who was put in the care of Tusla after he reported the incident in early 2024.
Both parents denied the allegations “completely” when they were questioned by gardaí, even when the videos were shown to them.
They were drug users, and the mother said she had previously been sexually abused herself.
The father previously had a cancer diagnosis and a life-altering operation that significantly affected his sexual functioning.
A report prepared for the court indicated the man said all of the offending was his idea.
Judge McMullan emphasised that there were no grounds for suspending any portion of the sentence. Neither of the accused had relevant previous convictions.
She wished the victim well, saying he is an intelligent and articulate person. Any fallout from the offending is due to the actions of his parents, she said.
