A former school caretaker who sexually abused his daughter in the family home over a seven-year period in “the ultimate betrayal of trust” has been jailed for eight and a half years.
The 77-year-old Dublin man pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to one count of orally raping his daughter and three counts of sexually assaulting her in the family home on dates between 1991 and 1997. She was aged between six and 13 at the time.
The court heard the charges were sample counts during the period of offending, with the complainant in the case blocking out many memories of the abuse to allow her to function in life.
The man, who can’t be named to protect the anonymity of his daughter, worked for 30 years as a caretaker at his local primary school, the court heard. He is still married to her mother, who was in court to support him.
Sentencing him on Tuesday, Ms Justice Melanie Greally said disclosing the sexual abuse by a parent is “one of the most difficult and conflicting decisions a person can be called on to make”.
She said the complainant was to be “strongly commended for breaking the stronghold of secrecy, for breaking her silence and making her father accountable for his actions”.
She noted the daughter’s relationship with her mother has been “tarnished irreparably”.
Ms Justice Greally said the man’s abuse of his daughter “must be regarded as the ultimate betrayal of trust”, noting the harm it has caused her.
The judge set a headline sentence of 14 years, but reduced it to eight and a half years taking into account a number of mitigating factors including the man’s guilty plea, his remorse, his advanced years and medical issues.
A local detective garda told Fiona McGowan, prosecuting, that the abuse started when the man orally raped his daughter as she was preparing for her First Holy Communion. He continued to sexually assault her over the years in the family home when her mother was doing shift work.
In her victim impact statement, which she read out at a previous sentence hearing, the woman outlined how she went to gardaí in 2021 and “divulged the horrible secrets I had held on to for 25 years”.
“It was as if the effects of the abuse are stored in a secret grave inside me,” she said, adding it felt like an “unexploded bomb”.
“I look at my own children and recognise that it is not normal for a child to be so terrified to go asleep ... It is not normal for a child to want to hide in the boot of their mother’s car all night so they won’t be left at home with their father.”
The woman said the abuse at the hands of her father made her feel “unlovable, vulnerable and alone”. “My father let me down.”
She said when she eventually told her mother about the abuse, she was afraid her mother would leave her. Ultimately, she said, the abuse has irrevocably damaged their relationship.
“Whatever bond we had is shattered by my father’s actions,” she said, adding there are “precious few” subjects they can now discuss.
“I’m grateful to be here today to stand up for the six-year-old girl who was so scared and alone in her bedroom at night,” she said.
A letter was handed in to court on behalf of her mother in relation to the man. Defence counsel, Gerardine Small, said this letter was “simply to outline [her husband’s] medical difficulties”.
The court heard the man has no previous convictions.
Ms McGowan told the court the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) places the offending at the more serious range of sentencing of 10 to 15 years. She said this was because of the breach of his position of trust, the young age of the complainant and the period of time over which the offending took place.
In her plea of mitigation on behalf of the man, Ms Small said her client has a number of medical conditions, including prostate cancer and poor mobility. His wife has also had medical issues.
Ms Small said the man was “deeply ashamed of his actions” and was aware of the “profound effect on his daughter”. “He fully accepts the breach of trust.”
She said he wanted to offer an apology to his daughter “for what it’s worth”. She asked the court to be as lenient as possible to the man, given his personal circumstances.