A Sligo man who had sex with a 14-year-old girl who told him she was two months pregnant has received a partially suspended sentence.
The man (31), who cannot be named to protect the victim's identity, pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to one count of defilement of a child under the age of 15 at an apartment in Co. Sligo, on September 7th or 8th, 2012.
The court heard that he is currently serving a sentence for assault causing harm to the mother of his three children and was scheduled for release on April 20th.
Ms Justice Tara Burns sentenced the man to three years imprisonment, but suspended the final year of the sentence for one year provided he keep the peace and be of good behaviour and follow all directions of his supervising officer.
The man is also to remain alcohol- and drug-free during the period of supervision, cannot reside in a house with a child under the age of 18 or have contact with a child under the age of 18 unless permitted by his supervising officer.
A local Garda sergeant told Gerard Clarke SC, prosecuting, that the injured party was aged 14 at the time of the assault. He said that on the night in question she went with another teenager into town and they met the accused man on a bridge.
The sergeant said they went back to an apartment and alcohol was consumed. The man asked the girl to go into the bedroom where she says he had sex with her against her will.
Previous convictions
When making her complaint to gardaí she said that she had told the man that night that she was aged 14. She also said she falsely told him that she was two months pregnant in the hope it would deter him from pursuing her sexually.
The sergeant said that the man admitted having sex with the girl in interview, but claimed that she had been a willing participant and said he thought she was around 18 years old.
The man has around 100 previous convictions, none of which are for sexual offences. These include convictions for assault causing harm, burglary, possession of knives and possession of drugs.
The sergeant did not accept the assertion by Desmond Dockery SC, defending, that the girl had been “worldly wise” at the time of the offence. He accepted that the girl did not know the man previous to that night and it was a chance meeting.
Mr Dockery said his client was “severely intoxicated” at the time of the offence. He said the case was largely dependent on admissions made by the man and asked that he receive credit for willingly making the admissions.
Ms Justice Burns said the aggravating factors in the case were the seriousness of the offence, the age difference of 10 years and the effect on the victim, who she described as being “a very vulnerable young girl”.
She said the mitigating factors were that the man had pleaded guilty, that he made admissions to gardaí and his own personal circumstances.
Ms Justice Burns told the man that she usually did not give second chances and was reluctant to do so in this case, but said it was clear that he is “a man with much potential”.