A man who sexually abused and raped his 10-year-old niece when he was babysitting her has been jailed for 11 years.
The 35-year-old was convicted following a Central Criminal Court trial in May of two counts of rape, 10 sample counts of sexual assault and one count of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child.
The court heard the girl was aged between 10 and 11 when the offending took place between May 2019 and April 2021 at her family home in Dublin.
The man cannot be identified, to protect the girl’s right to anonymity. He has no previous convictions.
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He is the girl’s uncle and would occasionally stay with the family. Evidence was heard that the offending took place when the girl’s parents were out and the man was in loco parentis (in the place of a parent).
In a victim-impact statement read to the court by the investigating garda, the girl said the man used her age, innocence and trust against her.
“I refuse to call you family, because family does not do what you did to me. Family does not look at a child and decide to destroy them; you did.”
She said she was 10 and “still learning what the world was and who I am”. She said he chose to ignore her fear and to continue.
“You chose yourself over a child’s safety, let that be clear,” she said, adding that she has had to live with the consequences of his choice every day since.
She said she hates what the man did to her, the fear he created and that she has to fight daily to undo something she never deserved.
“You are the person who caused years of pain you will never fully understand. Me? I am the one who survived you,” she said.
The girl said the man tried to take everything from her, but didn’t take her voice. She said the man had hurt her, changed her and left her with scars, “but I am still here”.
Imposing sentence on Monday, Mr Justice Sean Gillane said the man had exploited the victim in a deliberate and calculated way.
He said the victim-impact statement spoke for itself in a more eloquent fashion than he could. He said she lives with the consequences of the abuse every single day.
In her statement she said her abuser was “not someone who lost control but made a choice over and over again” to abuse her.
The judge said the defendant had abused and exploited the charity of the victim’s parents, who had taken him into their home when he was homeless.
He said he was taking into consideration the predatory nature of the offending, its repetition over a two-year period and the abuser’s attempts to use rewards to silence the victim.
He backdated the sentence of 11 years to May 13th last when the defendant went into custody after his conviction.
In her victim-impact statement, the girl described feeling dirty, broken and that something was wrong with her.
“The truth is something is wrong with you. But children don’t think like that, they blame themselves,” she said, adding that she blamed herself and felt shame.
The girl said she had experienced suicidal ideation and self harm.
“Here is where you lose. You thought I would stay silent and carry your secret forever. You were wrong. I found my voice and that voice is standing here today.”
