Man jailed for raping his cousin

This article contains extensive references to rape involving a child. The reader should read his opinion carefully.

By Eimear Dodd

A man who raped his younger cousin as a teenager was banned from having unsupervised contact with children.

The 20-year-old pleaded guilty to three counts of rape, one count of anal rape and one count of oral rape, on dates between April 28, 2017 and March 27, 2018.

In order to protect the victim’s anonymity, his name cannot be mentioned. She was between eight and nine years old at the time of the crime, while he was between 13 and 14 years old.

Judge Paul McDermott imposed a three-year prison sentence on Wednesday, with the final 20 months suspended under strict conditions, including that the man participate in all appropriate programs and cooperate with all child and victim protection measures.

The man was ordered not to have unsupervised contact with children and not to be in the company of a child without the presence of another adult. He was also ordered not to have any direct or indirect contact with the victim.

The Central Criminal Court had previously heard that the offence had taken place at the boy’s home and at the home of the children’s grandparents in County Dublin. It came to light in 2021 after the girl, then 11, told her father she did not want the teenager to go on a family holiday with them because “I don’t want him to do to me what he did before.”

The girl’s mother read the victim impact statement during an earlier sentencing hearing. The girl said she viewed the man as a “big brother” who “did everything with us.” She noted that he was in all of her childhood photos. She said when she looks back now, “all I see is a monster.”

“What you did to me was wrong,” she said, later adding that she would never forgive him for his actions.

The girl said she did not understand the “full extent” of what happened and that she had been told she would “not fully understand until she was older.”

On Wednesday, Judge Dermott said the victim was a “very brave child” and an “extraordinary girl with great character”. He said it “must have taken a lot of effort for her to admit what happened” and go through the criminal process.

The judge said the girl was the victim of a “very serious crime” and had shown strength of character throughout the investigation and criminal proceedings.

With regard to her victim impact statement, the judge pointed out that it would be a challenge for a 14-year-old to fully describe in words what had happened to her and the associated consequences – including for her extended family.

The judge said that while the girl had suffered trauma, she had also “brought the truth to light” and “clearly placed the blame for the crime where it belongs – on her cousin.”

Judge McDermott wished the girl all the best for the future and expressed the court’s hope that she would continue to lead a “fulfilling and happy life”.

He said it was aggravating that these crimes had been committed by an older cousin against a young child who had abused her trust.

The judge said the boy “knew what he was doing was wrong” because the crime took place in secret and away from adults.

Judge McDermott pointed to the mitigating circumstances, including the fact that the man had admitted guilt early on, shown remorse and had no previous convictions.

He said a total sentence of 12 years would be appropriate, but reduced this to five years to take account of the fact that the man was “in the lower end of his teens” at the time.

The judge said the court was satisfied that the man was trying to understand the devastation caused to the family, but noted that the probation service had raised concerns about his understanding of his offending behaviour and these concerns needed to be taken into account.

Judge McDermott noted that the man is studying at third level college and has exams in August. He said the court considered it appropriate for the man to complete his studies and ordered that the sentence should start on August 26, once the man has completed his exams.

At an earlier hearing, the court heard that the victim was questioned by specialist garda forces and that the first incident had taken place at the boy’s home, where he had raped her during a pyjama party.

He also raped her at her grandparents’ house. She told police that he had anally raped her on another occasion, and she told him to stop because it hurt.

The man was voluntarily interviewed at his local Garda station in June 2022 and admitted everything, telling Gardaí he was “disgusted, shocked and hated himself” for his actions.

He has no previous convictions and has not recently come to the attention of the Garda.

In her victim impact statement, the girl said the offence had affected her parents, grandparents and wider family, who were “devastated” and she knew they were trying to hide the impact from her in order to protect her.

The girl noted that her extended family no longer gets together for birthdays or other special occasions. “I don’t think it will be back to normal anytime soon. What (he) did will hang over the family forever,” she wrote.

She said she had been in therapy but hadn’t told her friends.

She said she hopes he understands that his actions mean the family “will never be the same again” and that he never hurts anyone like that again.

A local Gardaí had previously told Crown Prosecutor Carol Doherty BL that the investigation had been launched after Tusla referred the case to the Gardaí.

The Garda agreed with Eilis Brennan SC, defending, that her client had accepted full responsibility for his actions and had expressed shame, remorse and disgust when questioned by the Garda.

The defendant was believed to have told police that he had been viewing a lot of pornography on the internet at the time, accessing websites such as Pornhub.

The Garda agreed that the man said he had abused the girl’s trust and traumatised her by his actions. It was also acknowledged that he had entered an early guilty plea.

Ms Brennan said her client deeply regrets his actions and feels the pain caused to the victim and his family.

She noted that her client had been watching pornography at the time and that while this was “no excuse”, the court was “aware of what a scourge this is for children and young teenagers”.

She noted that the probation report was “positive” but expressed concern that his limited memory of his offending may have been related to his drug use at the time or a way to protect himself from feelings of shame. The report, however, notes that her client accepts full responsibility for his offending and has shown compassion for the victim.

She said he was willing to accept all appropriate services. A letter from his mother and other documents were submitted to the court. Her client suffered from depression and has been diagnosed with ADHD.

Ms Brennan asked the court to take into account her client’s young age at the time of the offence and the fact that he is due to graduate from high school in August.