Eight-year sentence for man who sexually assaulted nieces

A Dublin man has received a partially-suspended, eight-year sentence for sexually abusing two little girls in what was described as “gratuitous, depraved and exploitative” acts.

The man (46), who cannot be named to protect the victims’ identities, was convicted last February of 24 counts of sexually assaulting one girl and one count of sexually assaulting her younger sister.

The trial heard the abuse took place while the children were staying over in their granny’s home.

He sexually assaulted the first girl by touching her vagina while she slept on a date between July 2000 and July 2002, when she was six or seven years old.

The man, who is married to their aunt, would come into the second victim’s bedroom as she slept and molest her in the same way.

This happened from 2005 to 2010, with the incidents diminishing in frequency as the girl got older and avoided the man. The girl was aged six or seven years at the time of the first assault.

The man had pleaded not guilty to 33 charges. After a trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court last February a jury convicted on 25 counts. He was acquitted by direction of the trial judge of eight charges.

On Friday, Judge Martina Baxter said an aggravating factor was that the abuse had divided a once close family. She noted the jury had rejected the "lies" told by the man's partner and her mother during the trial to discredit the victims' evidence about staying over in the house.

The judge described the man’s acts as “gratuitous, depraved and exploitative” and said the victim impact reports confirmed “how bright and articulate these young women are”. She noted both women have moved out of their home area because of the man’s residence there.

She suspended the final 12 months of the eight-year sentence.

In a victim impact statement, the younger woman said the abuse had a major impact on her life and tore her family apart. She said she had often thought about killing herself and had attempted to do that on some occasions.

Defence counsel Paul Carroll SC, told the court that his client didn’t have any previous convictions and he did not accept the jury’s verdict. He said the man had led a productive life, working and rearing a family.

The father-of-two, who went into custody after the verdict, wrote a letter to the judge saying “please don’t make me miss anymore of my children’s childhood”.

Judge Baxter noted that this letter only detailed the man’s concern for himself and his own children.