A clare man who subjected his daughter and her friend to years of "barbaric sexual abuse" is to be sentenced in the Central Criminal Court next month.
In June of this year the 49-year-old, an alcoholic, pleaded guilty to 28 counts of rape and sexual assault of his now 18-year-old daughter and her friend between January 1991 and September 1996. He admitted one charge of sexually assaulting another of his daughter's friends in 1990-91, when she was aged about 10.
The man is a father of eight children. His counsel, Mr Brendan Grogan SC, asked Mr Justice Patrick Smith at yesterday's sentencing hearing not to penalise him unduly for denying the offences while being interviewed for probation and psychiatric reports.
The judge put off sentencing until November 6th. The defendant had faced 102 charges, and at first he pleaded guilty to only seven charges of sexually assaulting his own daughter. After his daughter had given direct evidence but before she was cross-examined, the accused pleaded guilty to the sample charges of rape now before the court for sentencing.
A Garda sergeant told Mr Michael Durack SC, prosecuting, that the defendant's family lived in squalor, and his children had contracted lice and scabies.
The family's circumstances had begun to improve dramatically since June, when the defendant, who did not work, was remanded in custody.
He said the man started abusing his daughter when she was eight. On a twice-weekly basis he raped and abused her in a shed, in a local wood, and in other abandoned buildings.
He made her bring her friend along so he could also rape and abuse her.
When he had money he gave them £5 to £20 and cigarettes to keep quiet.
He had tutored his daughter to ask him to bring her for a walk in the woods when her mother was in the house.
He would become angry and threatened violence whenever she forgot to make the request.
The sergeant said the girl began running away from home and became involved in petty crime with her friend, who was eventually sent to Oberstown House, a detention centre for girls. The daughter was sent back to her father, who was to keep an eye on her.
On October 25th, 1996, the defendant contacted gardai to say his daughter had run away again. When she was found she explained to gardai why she did not want to go home, and the investigation was launched.
The woman, the sergeant said, was a very strong person and was trying to get on with her life.
"She has come on in leaps and bounds since her father went into custody," he added.