Two sisters who sued a neighbour after he raped and sexually assaulted them while they babysat his children when they were teenagers were awarded over €1.2 million in damages at the High Court today.
The circumstances of the case warranted an award of aggravated and punitive damages to the women, who were "stunningly brave", Mr Justice Vivian Lavan said.
He awarded €596,000 each to both women, including €50,000 aggravated damages each.
The man involved, who cannot be named to protect the women's identity, was convicted and sentenced to 13 years imprisonment in December 2003 on charges of rape and sexual assault of the sisters, who were eleven and twelve years of age at the time.
The court was told that a figure of more than €200,000 had been lodged in court by the defendant at the start of the case and the judge ordered that €100,000 be paid out to each of the plaintiffs.
During the hearing of the case, Edward Walsh SC, for the sisters, had asked the judge to award substantial damages to show there was "a day of reckoning for paedophiles".