A Kildare man had been jailed for two years for sexually abusing his three nieces over five years. One of the girls was aged five the abuse started. The three victims turned down about £40,000 compensation from the sale of the defendant's home.
The 44-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to six counts of indecent assault against his three nieces between 1975 and 1980.
The court heard that the three victims were all under the age of 11 when they were sexually abused at his home. He let two of the girls pretend to drive his car and placed his hands inside their underwear as they did so.
Another was indecently assaulted in a shed as she played hide-and-seek with her friends.
The court was given Garda evidence that there was considerable friction between the three victims and some of their siblings, who did not want the abuse reported.
A psychiatrist attached to the Granada programme for sexual offenders said the defendant had been co-operative and had shown strong signs of remorse.
Judge Kieran O'Connor said the defendant had made a full admission to gardai when the first complaint was made and had supplied gardai with additional information about the abuse of his other two nieces. The offences were extremely serious and the consequences could have been much worse had the nieces not learnt to cope with what had happened.
He ordered that the defendant be released one day a week to continue treatment on the Granada programme.