Man (64) jailed for sexually abusing daughter during visits from foster care

A Co Laois man has been jailed for 10 years for sexually assaulting and orally raping his daughter when she was aged between four and eight and living in foster care.

Patrick Shiels (64) pleaded not guilty to oral rape and four counts of sexually assaulting the complainant during arranged visits to his home between September 2000 and December 2004 at his then address in Togher, Portlaoise.

Shiels also pleaded not guilty to two charges of child cruelty by forcing his daughter to drink alcohol and to watch pornography.

Sheils, who had no previous convictions, was convicted of all charges last month at the Central Criminal Court, which heard that Marlene Prakash-Shiels (25) wished to waive her right to anonymity in the case.

In her victim impact statement, which she read before the court, Ms Prakash-Shiels said her “life only gets to start today” and that she did not get to have a childhood. She said she felt as though she was born just to be abused.

She said that up until this point she had “only survived” rather than lived and that her heart breaks every single day for all the things she missed out on or had taken away from her “during what was supposed to be my childhood”.

Ms Prakash-Shiels said the crimes her father committed have had a disastrous effect on her. She said he instilled a level of hatred within herself which even with a lifetime of therapy “may be hard to shift”.

Lack of remorse

She said her father wasting court time by insisting on a trial shows a complete lack of remorse.

Mr Justice David Keane on Monday commended Ms Prakash-Shiels for the “quiet dignity” she displayed as a witness and described her victim impact statement as a “powerful document”.

He said the home of her father “ought to have been her refuge” rather than the scene of crimes against her. The judge said aggravating factors in the case included the abuse of trust, the disparity in ages and the trauma inflicted.

He said there was no credit available for a guilty plea and that Shiels has not expressed any remorse, has not apologised and has not engaged in rehabilitation.

Though he said he was willing to accept the accused’s good work history and alcoholism has mitigating factors.

The judge sentenced Shiels to 10 years imprisonment and also ordered that he undergo three years of supervision by the Probation Service following his release.

Foster care

An earlier sentencing hearing was told by Garda Amy Duffy that on the dates between 2000 and 2004 the victim was in foster care following the death of her mother and visiting arrangement were put in place for her to stay overnight with her father.

Garda Duffy said the incidents of sexual assault occurred while she was lying in a bed in the bedroom of her father’s home and on one occasion in a toilet.

The court heard that on one occasion her father poured her an alcoholic drink and got her to drink it. A further incident occurred when Shiels was watching pornography and made her watch him masturbate.

Garda Duffy agreed with Marc Thompson BL, defending, who submitted that his client pleading not guilty was not an aggravating factor. He said there was no violence used or any threat of violence. He said his client does not accept the verdict.