A Co Tipperary man who had unlawful carnal knowledge of a female under the age of 15 has been jailed for two years by Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Stephen Platt (20), of Fr Sheehy Terrace, Clogheen, pleaded guilty to committing the offence in June 2001.
Garda Ann McLoughlin told Melanie Greally, prosecuting, that Platt was 16 and the injured party 13 at the time, and they had known each other for a few years.
Garda McLoughlin said the girl, who had a mental age of 10 and suffered from a learning disability, had "something akin to a teenage crush" on Platt and considered him to be her boyfriend.
She said there had been three incidents over a period of a week of him having sex with the girl.
On all three occasions Platt had beckoned her to a wooded area by a river and brought her into a spot used as a "den" by local youths where he had sexual intercourse and oral sex with her.
He had told her they would get married and have children and warned her not to tell her mother.
The girl's parents became aware of what was happening when a local woman told them their daughter had said she had a boyfriend.
Platt was arrested on June 30th, 2001.
An extensive victim impact report was handed into court, and Judge Desmond Hogan was told another man had received a three-year suspended sentence for sexually assaulting the girl in an unrelated incident.
Garda McLoughlin agreed with Aidan Doyle, defending, that no physical force was used against the girl, who was relieved when Platt entered a guilty plea as she was afraid she would be blamed for the incident.
Garda McLoughlin said the girl was now a much quieter child who did not go out as much and feared people would talk about her.
She had conveyed a wish to Garda McLoughlin that Platt would not go to prison, and her mother hoped he would get help rather than be jailed.
Mr Doyle told Judge Hogan his client accepted total culpability for events and wanted to apologise to the victim.
Judge Hogan said the girl's learning difficulty was "a very serious aggravating factor" and, in a rural village where the parties were known to each other, it was not unreasonable to believe Platt knew of her difficulty.