Courts

Eighteen-year sentence for man convicted of sexually abusing three nieces

Duration of sentence imposed on 72-year-old means he might never be released, says judge

Mr Justice Tony Hunt said the man was a 'voracious sexual predator, masquerading as a kindly uncle'. Photograph: Alan Betson

Eimear Dodd
Isabel Hayes
Mon Oct 2 2023 - 16:43

A 72-year-old “voracious sexual predator” who masqueraded as a “kindly uncle” while sexually abusing three of his nieces for a decade has been jailed for 18 years.

Sentencing the Cork man on Monday, Mr Justice Tony Hunt said that as he might not survive the sentence, given his advanced age, the sentence “might be regarded as harsh” but he noted the offending took place over the course of a decade and involved three children.

The man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his victims, pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to 16 sample counts of rape, attempted rape, sexual assault and indecent assault between 1985 and 1995.

The court heard that the abuse took place at various locations in Co Cork and Co Kerry, including the man’s home, his car and the home of two of his victims. The abuse included rape, attempted rape and inappropriate touching.

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The three victims are all nieces of the man and were aged seven or eight when the abuse began. It continued into their teenage years. The first and second complainants are sisters, while the third complainant is a cousin of the other victims.

Imposing sentence, Mr Justice Hunt said the man was a “voracious sexual predator, masquerading as a kindly uncle”.

He said the abuse was repeated, prolonged, humiliating and degrading and he placed it in the highest category of offending in terms of seriousness. He noted there was a multitude of offences, which spanned a period of 10 years.

The judge set a headline sentence of 25 years, which he reduced to 20 years, noting the man is now 72 years old and that a higher sentence may have a “crushing” effect on him. He suspended a further two years of this sentence “perpetually”.

“The period of his wrongdoing and the harm it caused calls for a serious sentence, which he may or may not survive,” Mr Justice Hunt said.

He said the man should undergo two years of post-release supervision “should he be released”.

He said he wished to salute the complainants for their bravery in coming forward and for their “vivid and impressive” statements to the court.

In a previous sentence hearing, two of the man’s nieces read their victim impact statements to the court. Both women said the man had destroyed their childhoods.

One of the nieces said her uncle was “someone I should have been able to trust, someone who should have protected me”, but instead he “used me, an innocent child, for his own sexual pleasure”.

She said the man had “hurt and ruined so many lives” through his “sickening” and “perverted actions”.

“I may not have visible scars to show, but I wish you could spend a day inside my head to see how eight-year-old me felt.”

Another niece said the man “was a monster and a scary man”.

“What he did followed and haunted me for nearly 35 years,” she said, describing it as a “life sentence”.

She asked the court to “look at him through the eyes of that vulnerable and impressionable eight-year-old girl” who saw him as a “big strong man terrorising a little child”.

“I didn’t matter, he didn’t care. My beautiful small eight-year-old self suffered for nearly 25 years for his selfish and cruel actions.”

One of the complainants did not submit a victim impact statement. She told gardaí the man had “ruined” her life and “every day since is a struggle”. She said she developed depression and an alcohol addiction, but has sought treatment.

The court heard there were several confrontations within the family about the man’s actions. During one such incident in 2017, the man acknowledged abusing two of the victims, but denied the sexual assault of the remaining complainant. He said: “I was only loving them”.

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