21-year-old man raped and abused his younger sisters, court says

By Niamh O’Donoghue

A 21-year-old man is to be sentenced for the rape and sexual assault of his younger sisters in County Waterford.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to six counts of oral rape between November 30, 2014 and November 30, 2016.

Judge Karen O’Connor will sentence him at the Central Criminal Court on July 22.

A local Garda officer told the court that the events took place when the older of the two sisters was between eight and ten years old and the defendant was between twelve and fourteen years old.

There are also two counts of sexual abuse of his younger sister and the case was tried on the basis of all the facts. The child was between eight and eleven years old at the time of the crimes.

The court heard the incidents took place every other weekend when the girls, whose parents lived apart, had visitors at their father’s house. They are now aged 17 and 14.

The older sister gave a video interview with police in April 2021, but the court heard the younger sister did not want to do such an interview. The court heard the younger sister never made a formal complaint and only gave information to the family.

The abuse occurred with the first sister when she was eight years old. The plaintiff said she did what he told her because she was afraid of him and felt she had to do it. She said the abuse occurred every time she visited her father, which was every other weekend.

The plaintiff stated that her brother orally raped her more than 20 times. She said the abuse stopped when she was 10 years old.

The younger sister told her father’s partner that the defendant had touched her private parts, and when the partner spoke to the older sister, she told her what had happened to her. When confronted, the defendant admitted that the abuse had taken place. Her father reported it to the police.

When questioned by police, he did not ask for a lawyer and initially said he could not remember anything other than touching his sister, but he had not forced her to do anything. He later told police he would plead guilty because he did not want to call his sisters to the witness box. He has no previous criminal record.

In a victim impact statement read in court by prosecutor Eilis Brennan, the eldest of his two sisters, now 17, said the abuse had torn her family apart and she had begun to self-harm.

“He told me things like, ‘Nobody would ever love me and I was lucky he did that to me,'” she said. “He was supposed to be my brother and protect me.”

She said that she used to use sleep as an escape, but then she started having nightmares in which she screamed but made no sound and was unable to wake up on her own.

She said she couldn’t look at herself because she looked like her brother and it made her physically sick.

In the victim impact statement of the younger sister, which was also read out by Ms Brennan, it was stated that she was 12 years old when her then 18-year-old brother sexually assaulted her.

She said she couldn’t control her anger and used to hit the walls, but now it doesn’t happen as often.

Ms Brennan told the court that, in the Attorney General’s view, a prison sentence of between 10 and 15 years was justified for these offences, but that it had to be taken into account that the accused was a minor at the time.

Under cross-examination, Garda Foley agreed that the defendant had told the Gardai: “I plead guilty to everything.” “I will not call my sisters to the witness box either, I would not do that to them.”

She also agreed with defence counsel Colman Cody SC that his client had co-operated fully and had not come to the attention of the Gardai since.

Garda Foley also confirmed that he was shunned by his family, although he still has some contact with his mother.

In his defense, Mr Cody said the court had probation and psychological reports that showed “some overlap” regarding his family dynamics.

He told the court that his client was between 12 and 17 years old at the time of the crime and that the court had to assess his maturity at the time. He said that his attitude towards the crimes had changed significantly over the years and that he had taken full responsibility for his actions. He acknowledged that this had robbed his sisters of their innocence.

He now lives in a dormitory, cannot work and feels isolated. “He’s practically a pariah now.”

“He himself is a vulnerable man, as the reports show,” Mr Cody said.

Mr Cody said the probation report found him to be at medium risk of reoffending and the psychological report found him to be at average risk.

He said his client had trouble as a child and his parents separated when he was eight years old.

Mr Cody told the court that his client had been sexually abused at the age of seven.

The court heard that he suffers from a condition called ventricular tachycardia, which is “an additional stress factor” for him.

Mr Cody urged the court that the sentence, if imposed, should be as short as possible and designed so that any further violation of the sentence would result in severe consequences.

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