A WEXFORD farm labourer who raped a schoolgirl several times has been jailed for 10 years by Mr Justice Paul Carney at the Central Criminal Court.
The 29-year-old man, who cannot be named to protect the victim's identity, pleaded guilty to six sample counts of raping the then nine- to 12-year-old girl, who is related to him, from 1997 to 1999.
Mr Justice Carney directed that the man's name be added to the register of sex offenders and that he undergo 10 years of post-release supervision.
He said the range of penalty went from a suspended sentence to life imprisonment. He was required to place this case at its proper place on that scale in accordance with its facts and then to discount such facts as were in favour of the defendant. He was also required to provide "a tunnel of hope" for him.
He had assessed this case as meriting a 15-year term taking into consideration "the heinousness of the crime, the breach of trust, the victim's age, the impact it had on her and that the Director of Public Prosecutions regarded it as being on the higher end of penalty range".
Mr Justice Carney said that taking into account the man's early guilty plea, his previous good character and work record, his immediate admissions and his youth at the time of offending, he would impose 10-year terms on each count, to run concurrently.
Sgt Seán Lee told Ronan Kennedy, prosecuting, that the rapes happened in a bedroom, hayshed and pig shed when the victim visited the man's house. He would tell her each time not to reveal what happened to anyone and she was afraid of him because she had seen him firing a shotgun into the air.
Sgt Lee said he came voluntarily to the Garda station and made admissions, but he had denied he had threatened the girl or her family, although he agreed he had asked her not to tell anyone.
When asked if anybody in the family was suspicious, he replied: "I was careful." Sgt Lee said the woman did not want to address the court in person but wished to have her victim impact statement read by her counsel.
Mr Kennedy said the statement revealed she suffered from low self-esteem and had ongoing nightmares, flashbacks and panic attacks. She was afraid to trust anyone and found it difficult to meet and trust new people.
Sgt Lee agreed with Patrick McCarthy SC, defending, that the man told gardaí he would plead guilty and that he was very remorseful for his actions. He had no previous convictions and had a consistent work record.
Mr Kennedy said the DPP had noted the mitigating factors such as his admissions and guilty plea and his personal circumstances, including that he was considered to be of low intelligence.