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A man who sexually abused his daughter for several years in an “egregious” breach of trust, causing her to grow up in a “house of secrets”, has been jailed for 11 years.
The Co Cork man was found guilty by a jury of 71 counts of rape, oral rape, indecent assault and sexual assault of his child following a Central Criminal Court trial in Cork last year.
He has no previous convictions and does not accept the verdicts of the jury.
The court heard he abused his daughter in the family home in Cork between 1988 and 1997 when she was aged between seven and 17. He manipulated her and favoured her over his other children, which caused a rift with her siblings, the court heard.
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Sentencing the man on Friday, Mr Justice Paul Burns said the 65-year-old had engaged in “an egregious breach of trust between a child and father”. He noted the abuse took place in the family home, “which should have been a place of safety and support”.
“She grew up in a house of secrets,” the judge said.
The judge said the complainant’s life has been “significantly and fundamentally affected as a result of the abuse perpetrated on her by her father” and that the court could only sympathise with the woman.
A detective told the court that the woman’s earliest memories were of being abused by her father, with the abuse progressing from touching to rape and oral rape over the years. For a long time, she said she did not know that what he was doing was wrong because she trusted him as her father.
Over a two to three-year period in her teens, he raped the girl at least 20 times, the court heard, including times when her younger siblings were downstairs. The abuse continued until she turned 18 and left the family home to live with her grandmother.
She went to gardaí in 2018 after receiving counselling. She continues to have a fractured relationship with her family, the court heard.
In her victim impact statement, which she read out in court, the woman said life was extremely difficult for her growing up in that home.
“I was known as his favourite and disliked for that,” she said. “It created tension and jealousy.”
She said she remembered realising that what her father was doing to her was wrong and feeling ashamed as a result, wondering if her classmates would see her as “used, damaged or dirty”.
She said she feared that if she told her secret it would break up the family. She said if she did not do as he wanted, he would shut her out and ground all the children.
“The happiness of those around me depended on me doing what you wanted,” she said.
She said her father was responsible for the ruination of her childhood. “You were supposed to be my father,” she said. “You were supposed to be a protector, not a predator.”
The woman said seeing her own children “so innocent” and so dependent on their parents made her realise the enormity of what her father had done to her.
She said she found the trial process extremely difficult and felt as if she was the one on trial.
“I never asked for any of this,” she said, later adding: “I am glad I was heard and believed.”
Defence counsel said the man, who was supported in court by his wife, has a number of serious health issues and will need medical support in custody.
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