“He destroyed my life” – Man sentenced to two years in prison for child sexual abuse almost 40 years ago

A man who repeatedly sexually abused a young girl over a two-year period almost 40 years ago has been sentenced to prison.

Stephen Lane (52) was 14 when he began sexually abusing the girl, who was then between five and seven years old.

The Central Criminal Court heard that the woman wishes Lane, of Fernwood Avenue, Springfield, Tallaght, Dublin, to be named but her anonymity to be preserved.

Lane pleaded guilty to five counts of indecent assault on dates between February 1986 and June 1988. 18 additional counts of indecent assault were taken into account by the court in reaching the verdict.

Lane knew the girl and the abuse took place in several locations, including her home.

The court was previously told that the abuse stopped in June 1988 after the girl’s father became aware of it.

The victim filed a complaint with the Gardai in June 2019. Lane voluntarily appeared for questioning and initially denied the allegations.

An investigating Garda officer told Gerard Clarke SC, prosecuting, that Lane had touched the girl inappropriately in her genital area and told her it was a game and not to tell anyone.

In a victim impact statement, the woman said she was a “young, vulnerable child” and Lane convinced her that what was happening was normal. “I was too young to know it was wrong.”

She explained that she felt like she was the one being “punished” after the abuse came to light and she was made to feel like it was her fault.

“I felt like my parents didn’t see me the same anymore and I didn’t feel safe anymore. The older I got, the more I realized he was the one they were protecting when it should have been me… the 80s were a different world and the girls got the blame.”

The woman later said in her testimony: “He prevented me from living the life I could have lived.” She said she had to deal with the effects of the abuse while “he lived his life without any repercussions.”

“Quite simply, he destroyed my life,” she said.

She said she was “glad” she spoke about the incident and “always knew” she would go to the Gardai.

She said she was afraid she would not be believed and described her relief when she was told the case would be pursued.

She said she was relieved when Lane pleaded guilty. “It was finally the ultimate validation. For the first time ever, I smiled and it wasn’t like a mask on… all I want is to be free of the trauma.”

In today’s sentencing, Judge Eileen Creedon said Lane had abused the girl “persistently” and “frequently”.

She pointed to the victim’s young age at the time of the crime and the age difference between her and Lane. The judge said Lane had “isolated” the girl and told her it was a game to normalize his behavior.

Judge Creedon said she would impose a minimum sentence of six years for an adult, but because Lane was a minor at the time of the offence, she reduced the minimum sentence to three years.

The judge said she took into account mitigating circumstances, including Lane’s guilty plea, the contents of a psychological report and his employment history.

She sentenced Lane to two and a half years in prison, with the final six months suspended under strict conditions.

Judge Creedon also ordered that Lane be placed on the sex offenders’ register for three years.

At an earlier hearing, the victim described in her statement that she had experienced a pattern of abusive relationships that felt normal to her.

She stated that she had little to no trust in people and “hated being touched,” even by her children. The woman also suffered from hypervigilance and overprotectiveness toward her children.

The defense attorney said Lane had a long professional career and was a divorced father of four children.

A medical report was presented to the court which shows that Lane is under a great deal of stress and anxiety as a result of the case.

She asked the court to take into account her client’s expressions of remorse as well as his plea of ​​guilt and acceptance of responsibility.

The lawyer also pointed out that her client was between 14 and 16 years old at the time of the crime and asked the court to take this into account when determining the sentence.

The court was told in a psychological report that Lane had been shown explicit pornography as a young teenager and had not received any sex education from his parents or at school.

His risk of re-offending is assessed as below average to low and he is willing to accept all appropriate services. Two witness statements were also submitted to the court.