A man who admitted he had indecently and sexually assaulted a young girl over a seven-year period was jailed for nine years by Dundalk Circuit Criminal Court yesterday.
Judge Raymond Groarke said they were horrific offences for any man to subject a child to and he had deprived her of her innocence.
At the last sessions of the court Dermot Finnegan (57), with an address at Father Scully flats, James McSweeney House, Phibsboro, in Dublin, had pleaded guilty to 15 counts of sexual assault and 15 counts of indecent assault on the girl.
They took place at various locations between 1987 and 1994, from the time the girl was six years of age.
The court heard he would visit the girl's family at weekends and once took her away to Cork where they booked into a B & B as father and daughter.
Yesterday, Det Garda Canice O'Gorman said the girl wants to put it all behind her and had refused to meet with counsellors or social services.
The case had been adjourned for a victim impact report but none had been compiled because of this.
The girl was not in court and she did not have great support from her family, the garda added.
Mr Derek Kenneally, defending, said the accused had tried a number of times to get treatment for his problem and worked as a caretaker in flats occupied by elderly people thereby taking him away from young people.
He had made a full statement to gardai and co-operated and was deeply shameful and remorseful.
Imposing prison terms of three years in relation to three of the charges, to run consecutively, Judge Groarke said is was a frightening state of affairs that her parents were apparently indifferent [to the matter].
He also imposed three-year sentences in relation to the other 27 charges, which are to run concurrently with the first sentence.
Judge Groarke said he would review the sentence in three years' time and directed that the defendant undergo psychiatric and medical treatment.