A former postman who repeatedly raped and sexually assaulted his daughter over ten years has been given a life sentence on top of a 20-year prison term he is serving for other sex crimes.
The Laois man (47) had previously pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to 32 counts of rape, oral rape and sexual assault on his daughter between 1993 and 2003. She was seven years old when the abuse started.
Some of these offences were committed while he was on bail arising out the charges on which he is serving the 20-year term.
The girl made a complaint to gardai about the abuse in October 2003 and her father was arrested a month later. The victim, now 20, sat in the court with her mother and two of her brothers as the sentence was handed out. When arrested, the man made "limited admissions" relating to sexual abuse, the court heard.
Mr Justice Paul Carney noted that the man had already been given a 20-year sentence previously over the rapes of three young girls. He imposed a life sentence for the rapes of the daughter, which he made consecutive to the existing prison term the man was serving. He also imposed five-year terms for each count of sexual assault.
Mr Justice Carney directed that the man be registered as a sex offender when he pleaded guilty to the current charges in January.
The man was convicted in 2003 of 11 charges of rape and 20 of indecent assault between 1975 and 1984 on three sisters who were aged from four to 14 years. The jury in the 2003 trial heard he offered the victims crisps as an enticement.