Courts

Man who abused partner’s niece in ‘despicable manner’ jailed for 9 years

John Dempsey snr of Crumlin admitted to seven counts of raping Lillian Byrne whom he had groomed from when she was 12 years old

Lillian Byrne was about 12 at the time of the first rape, which occurred in a back room of her aunt’s home as the accused showed her 'exercises'. Photograph: iStock
Lillian Byrne was about 12 at the time of the first rape, which occurred in a back room of her aunt’s home as the accused showed her 'exercises'. Photograph: iStock
Fiona Ferguson
Mon Oct 21 2024 - 16:13

A Dublin man who sexually abused his partner’s niece in a “despicable manner” more than 30 years ago has been jailed for nine years.

Lillian Byrne told the court in her victim impact statement that she was handing back the shame and guilt she had carried to the accused man.

She said now that John Dempsey snr (73) was in prison, she hoped she could be released from the prison in her head that she had been in for the past 43 years.

The Central Criminal Court heard that Dempsey snr of Derry Drive, Crumlin, Dublin 12 began grooming Ms Byrne when she was 12 years old and abused her throughout her teenage years.

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He pleaded guilty to seven counts of raping Ms Byrne on dates between 1980 and 1991 at various Dublin locations. He has no previous convictions.

Ms Byrne waived her anonymity, so that Dempsey snr could be named.

Dempsey was 33 years old when he started abusing the victim, who was then 12 years of age.

Passing sentence on Monday, Mr Justice Paul Burns said Dempsey had “robbed” the victim of her youth and his actions continued to impact her life.

Mr Justice Burns said Dempsey snr “egregiously” breached a position of trust and subjected the victim to “repeated and regular” abuse. He said Dempsey snr had groomed the victim, “treated her with contempt” and “sought to control her”.

Mr Justice Burns set a headline sentence of 14 years, which he reduced to 10 years, after considering the mitigation.

The judge suspended the final year of the sentence on strict conditions, including that Dempsey place himself under the supervision of the Probation Service for three years.

Addressing Ms Byrne, Mr Justice Burns said he wanted to make it clear to her that there “is and only ever was one person to blame – the accused”.

He said she had been a “young girl” who was “taken advantage of in a despicable manner”, and had nothing to be ashamed of.

He said the court had noted her courage in coming forward and expressed the hope that this process, alongside the support of her family, would assist her healing.

A prosecuting garda told John Moher BL, prosecuting, that the then young girl would visit her aunt and Dempsey snr at their home during her childhood.

The victim recalled the offending starting with incidents of grooming beginning in 1980. She said it was “all fun and games” at first and felt “like a fairy-tale”. She said he would tell her they would run away together when she was 18 years old.

She was about 12 at the time of the first rape, which occurred in a back room of her aunt’s home as the accused showed her “exercises”. She described the pain as excruciating and felt shocked that this had happened at the hands of someone she trusted.

She said Dempsey snr continued to tell her she was special and that they would run away together. She said the rapes continued when she visited and she did not realise for years that it was sexual abuse. She said Dempsey snr had convinced her he was her boyfriend and she felt confused. She said he told her she was his princess.

The girl lived at her aunt’s home for a time and the abuse continued daily during this period. She said she would cry in bed with the pain. He attempted to get her to perform oral sex but she could not. He told her she was “useless” but said he would “teach” her.

She managed to “escape” from Dempsey snr and his home to a flat when she became pregnant at 17 years with her partner at the time. The court heard of two further occasions when she was raped by Dempsey snr. She said she felt sick at that time that Dempsey snr still had control over her.

The woman came forward some years later and made a statement about the abuse in 2021. She had the support of her husband at this time and felt strong enough to go to An Garda Síochána.

In her victim impact statement, Ms Byrne told Dempsey snr she was a child when he began to groom her and that he had known what he was doing. She said she could clearly remember the first time he raped her 43 years ago and the effect on her life had been “horrendous”.

She outlined the ongoing ripple effects of the abuse on her and her family.

She described how she had sat outside the Garda station waiting for the courage to go inside to make a report, which eventually came to her. She told the court that although she was making a victim impact statement, she was a survivor.

Michael Bowman SC, defending, said his client accepted his wrongdoing and there was no question mark over the truthfulness of the victim’s version of events. He said his client hoped his acknowledgment of his guilt in this forum would bring some closure to the victim.

Mr Bowman said Dempsey snr had been in reform school as a child and, since leaving there at 14, he had been in consistent employment.

He said Dempsey snr suffered from ill health. He lived until recently in the family home but has lost the society of his family as a consequence of his own behaviour.