Man who repeatedly raped his 12-year-old stepdaughter is sentenced to nearly 12 years in prison

A man who repeatedly raped his 12-year-old stepdaughter over a two-month period a decade ago, causing an “outrageous” violation, has been sentenced to 11-and-a-half years in prison.

The man abused the girl four times in 2014 while she was lying in her bed and once while she was sleeping on the floor in her siblings’ room in the hope of avoiding him.

After the second incident, she confided in her mother, but he abused her twice more, including on Christmas Eve, the Central Criminal Court heard.

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During the abuse, he put his hand over her mouth and on one occasion he bit her breasts and pulled her hair, leaving clumps of it on her pillow.

The man, now 41, was found guilty by a jury of three counts of rape, two counts of anal rape and one count of sexual abuse of the girl in her family home in the southeast of the country during a trial at the Central Criminal Court in Waterford earlier this year.

The abuse took place in November and December 2014, when she was 12 and he was 31 years old, according to Friday’s verdict.

The social services looked after the family and the girl, who was described as being in need of protection, was taken into care. Her mother had mental health problems, the court said.

The man continues to deny abusing the girl and claims she “twisted” her childhood to get revenge on him, Judge Karen O’Connor noted in sentencing on Friday. The defense attorney told the court he intends to appeal.

Judge O’Connor noted that the plaintiff in this case grew up in a “chaotic environment” and suffered neglect during her childhood. “She was a vulnerable person from a difficult background,” the judge said.

She found that the man acted like a stepfather to the girl and was a father figure as he abused her in the “sanctuary” of her own bed in her own home. The offence had an element of “brutality”, the judge said. “She was abused in an egregious manner,” the judge said.

She referred to a victim statement previously presented by the plaintiff, in which she stated that her childlike innocence had been “snatched away” from her through the abuse.

She has spent many years dealing with the consequences of the abuse and her traumatic childhood and has now built a good life for herself, “surrounded by people who love her, care for her and support her,” the judge said.

The judge praised the young woman’s courage in openly addressing the abuse.

The judge noted that the man continues to maintain his innocence and does not accept the jury’s verdicts. He has no previous convictions and a good work history, the court said.

Judge O’Connor reduced the original sentence of 13.5 years to 11.5 years, retroactively dating the sentence to the date of his incarceration in March.

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