Man avoids jail for abuse of suicidal teenage daughter

A man in his 50s who sexually assaulted his 19-year-old daughter when she came to him for support after a suicide attempt has been given a two-year suspended jail sentence.

The man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his victim, pleaded guilty to a single count of sexually assaulting the girl at the family home in Cork on September 19th, 2010.

On Thursday at Cork Circuit Criminal Court, Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin noted the woman’s complaint against her father had divided the family, with some of her siblings siding with her and some siding with her father.

“She felt a great hurt at the fact he did not plead guilty earlier and some of her family sided with him but his guilty plea now is a public acknowledgement of his wrongdoing – no person, no sibling can now deny that she was right.”

He said the offence marked a considerable breach of trust on the defendant’s part, particularly given the nature of the father-daughter relationship and how close she was to him at a vulnerable time.

Judge Ó Donnabháin noted the man had been charged with one sexual assault and he also noted the girl had noticed a smell of drink from her father, who had struggled all his life with alcohol addiction issues.

He said he believed in the circumstances the appropriate sentence, in light of the man’s guilty plea and previous good character, was a two-year jail term that he would suspended in its entirety for a period of two years.

Background

Earlier, Det Garda Fionnuala Whelan, who investigated the case, outlined the background to the sexual assault which happened when the young woman was 19 and living at home with her family.

“It happened when she was getting counselling after an intentional overdose at the age of 18. He father ended up in a close relationship with her. He was the only one she could speak to at this time,” said Det Garda Whelan.

They were alone in a shed at the back of the family home when he embraced her and held her in his arms and while she could smell alcohol from his breath, she did not believe he was drunk.

Det Garda Whelan then described the abuse in detail. She continued: “There was a noise from outside and they both jumped.”

The victim’s father, who is now in his mid-50s, then asked his daughter to go to another outhouse with him but she declined and there was never any repeat of the incident, the court heard.

Counselling

The victim said all she ever wanted was for her father to tell the truth and get help and she felt she had no other option to get out of the family home. She later went for counselling and felt she lost her family.

“I lost my whole family because he chose to lie instead of telling the truth,” the woman said in her victim impact statement. She concluded her statement by saying she was glad she made the complaint.

The defendant took the witness box to apologise to his daughter for what he had subjected her to but he broke down as he did so. “She was right, I was wrong… I am so so sorry for what happened,” he said.

Defence barrister Brendan Kelly BL said alcohol was a factor in the assault which his client acknowledged was entirely wrong and he was sorry for the many years of isolation from the family that his daughter suffered as a result.