Woman waited for mother, aunt to die before reporting sex abuse by cousin

A man who regularly sexually abused his younger cousin while she was visiting his family home more than 40 years ago has been jailed for 18 months.

The 62-year-old defendant, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his now 52-year-old victim, pleaded guilty to four sample charges of indecent assault on dates between January 1978 and December 1980. The Dublin man has no previous convictions.

Garda Kayleigh McCarthy said the woman, who emigrated to England as a young adult, first made a complaint to gardaí­ in December 2018 when she was at home in Ireland visiting.

Judge Melanie Greally noted that “out of kindness to her aunt and mother” the victim had waited until both had died before reporting the abuse.

Garda McCarthy said the woman had previously written to her cousin and he replied admitting his guilt and apologising. He also thanked her for not disclosing the abuse to his mother.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that he also spoke to various members of the extended family, during an occasion in which they had gathered together, and apologised for his behaviour.

Unusual case

Judge Greally said it was a very unusual case given the admission of guilt the accused had made.

“Out of kindness to her aunt and her mother, she waited until their passing”, Judge Greally said.

She said the woman had outlined, in her victim impact statement, the “extreme emotional suffering” she has experienced in her adult life, “for which she sought much needed help”.

“I fully take into account the pain that has been inflicted on her by the accused’s actions,” Judge Greally said.

She noted that the maximum sentence available to the court, under the law which existed at the time, was two years.

She sentenced the man to consecutive sentences totalling three years. She said she was taking into account the serious nature of the abuse, the breach of trust involved, the victim’s youth and the differences in age, the length of time in which the abuse occurred and the severe impact of the abuse on the woman.

Judge Greally suspended the final 18 months of the sentence having given the man credit for his guilty pleas, his absence of convictions, his remorse, his age at the time, the lapse of time since the offence, his employment and a psychological report.