Woman sexually abused by her father says she felt like she was on trial

The court heard his daughter was aged between 10 and 14 at the time of the abuse. Judge Eileen Creedon adjourned sentencing until October 14 for final sentencing.

In her victim impact statement, the young woman said the abuse affected every aspect of her life and affected her in ways she did not fully understand until she was older. She said it would affect her for the rest of her life.

She described how she was unable to access therapy as a teenager due to waiting lists and financial constraints. She described how she sought counselling before the trial and said it was “surreal” that these notes, some of which were false, were then taken and used in the trial.

She described how she feared the notes would be “picked” and used to portray her as a liar.

She said her body was under tremendous strain as a result of the abuse and stress, with problems including sleep disturbances, self-harm, anxiety-related irritable bowel syndrome, chest pain, headaches and migraines, extreme fatigue and hypervigilance. She was diagnosed with complex PTSD.

She described how her life was “completely different to everyone else my age” and that she found it difficult to explain what had happened to her to her friends as they could not comprehend the magnitude of what was happening. She said that as a result she had little support as her friends either did not understand or did not know.

Speaking about the trial, she said she was “horrified” when she saw where she would sit as a witness in relation to the defendant. She questioned how a victim could cope with hearing the defendant snort or scoff at evidence.

“How can you stay calm and focused in this situation?” she asked.

She said she heard someone tell another victim that she wasn’t the one on trial and wanted to scream across the courtroom. She said she was the one sitting on the witness stand being questioned.

She said:

How can it be that I am not in court here?

She said she has felt like she was on trial for the past six years. She explained the “whole process was a joke” and not well organized, which caused even more stress for victims. She said there was little support.

She said she was grateful that this part of her life was coming to an end and thanked those who had supported her.

An investigating Garda officer told Seamus Clarke SC, prosecuting, that the abuse consisted of the accused touching his daughter’s genitals and breasts and putting his tongue in her mouth before performing oral rape.

The abuse came to light when the child told his mother in 2017 because she refused to visit her father. The Gardaí were contacted and conducted a specialist interview. The accused denied the allegations when questioned by the Gardaí.

Character References

Defence counsel James McGowan SC submitted two character certificates on behalf of his client.

The first letter, from a friend, described how thoughtful and attentive he was and how hard he worked to support his family. She said he was a “good guy and a good friend.” The second letter, from his new partner, described how much she relied on him and the impact his imprisonment was having on their young family.

Mr McGowan said his client had health problems that were not helped by detention. He said he was a man who was very involved in his family life and had always worked.

He said the detention would have serious consequences for him and asked the court to be as lenient as possible.

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