Leinster man sentenced to two years in prison for raping cousin on grandmother’s farm

A 15-year-old boy who was regularly raped and abused by his older cousin as a young child said he was “sentenced to life imprisonment.”

The boy told the Central Criminal Court how he tried to take his own life to “stop the pain in my head”.

The court found that the victim was eight years old and his cousin was 13 when the abuse began and continued for three years.

The two families lived in a rural area in Leinster next to her grandmother’s farm. The victim told the court that his family had since moved, leaving their “forever home” behind.

He said his parents “paid the price with their health and finances,” adding that his father suffered a stroke due to the stress he was exposed to and continues to suffer from it.

During the sentencing of the defendant, now 20, the teenager read out his victim impact statement earlier this month.

“I tried to take my life to relieve the pain in my head. I inflicted physical harm on myself. The physical pain I inflict on myself relieves (the pain of abuse), but it is always short-lived,” he said.

“I wish I could tell my seven-year-old self not to be afraid and that I would be believed. I finally found my voice and told my sister that I had found my voice after years of him telling me that I wouldn’t be believed,” he said.

“He was supposed to protect me. He treated me brutally and raped me. I have been sentenced to life imprisonment,” the teenager concluded his statement.

The 20-year-old man pleaded guilty to several charges, including two counts of sexual assault, one count of oral and anal rape, and one count of child abuse by causing a child to view images of sexual acts between January 2018 and February 2020.

Judge Melanie Greally found that the defendant had “compulsively consumed pornography” and imposed a three-year prison sentence, with the final year suspended.

She noted that the defendant had ongoing health problems and was suffering from myocarditis and autism, as well as a history of anxiety and depression. The judge said she had to take into account the age of the defendant, who is serving a sentence in an adult prison.

She also said she had to take into account the feelings of remorse he expressed and his difficult childhood in which he was bullied at school.

In his victim statement, the teenager said he had been “robbed of his happiness, innocence and wonder” and said what should have been the “most natural experience” with an older cousin on his grandmother’s farm had “become an obscenity.”

He described his cousin as an “opportunistic robber.”

He said his mother always told him that “life is my playground,” but the defendant took that feeling away from him.

He spoke of how his “self-esteem and confidence” had been affected and that he felt like it would never get better. He spoke of falling behind in school because he “got into trouble more easily” and having trouble sleeping.

The teenager described his cousin’s threats against his sister and parents if he told anyone or did not allow the abuse to continue. He said he had considered killing himself.

“I was an innocent child abused and raped by my cousin, who was defended and protected by his parents,” the boy continued, speaking of having to leave his “forever home” where he rode his bike on his grandmother’s road and helped his uncle on the farm.

“It was ideal, but also the most unsafe place because of (the defendant),” he continued.

He said he did not have to see the defendant due to the lockdown during the Covid pandemic and that he “had no pain in my body and heart, but when the country reopened, it was as if he had picked up where he left off.”

ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE

A local detective told the Patrick Gageby, South Carolina, district attorney’s office that the child told his mother in May 2020 that his cousin had shown him “inappropriate things” and advised him to “do inappropriate things.”

The victim was 10 years old at the time. However, the severity of the abuse was not clear and the families agreed that the matter should be handled by Tusla.

A few months later, the victim’s mother said she did not want a Garda investigation, but two years later she made a statement to that effect.

The child then told his mother that his cousin had shown him pornography and told him that they would do it soon – referring to the sexual behavior in the videos.

The child did not want to talk to police and it was difficult to get information at the time of the initial disclosure, so his parents waited. The detective said the boy then began leaving notes to his mother describing what was happening to him.

He was interviewed by a Gardaí specialist in October 2021 and described incidents of oral and anal rape. He said they occurred two or five times and took place during a game of hide-and-seek.

He was told not to tell anyone or his cousin would kill or rape his sister.

The accused was arrested and charged. The victim was questioned again two years later, when she was almost 14 years old. At that point, she was able to describe the abuse in more detail, the investigator told the court.

He reported in detail on numerous cases of oral and anal rape and again spoke of the threats made.

He said the abuse happened “every few days – whenever he had the chance.” His cousin was interviewed again and denied some of the allegations but admitted to less serious crimes that the victim had mentioned in her statement.

The court heard that the defendant had no previous convictions and worked with his father in the construction industry.

The detective, defending Karl Finnegan SC, said the incident was initially reported to the family’s GP, who then reported it to Tusla before the gardaí were contacted.

He accepted that both boys were then referred to the appropriate services. It was further accepted that the defendant admitted sexual abuse and showing pornography to his younger cousin. He has not come to the attention of the police outside of this case.

Judge Greally, in suspending the final 12 months of his sentence, ordered him to contact support organisations for people with autism spectrum disorders and to undergo consent and self-counselling.

The judge wished the victim “only the very best for the future” and said she hoped he would lead a fulfilling life.