A 70-year-old west Belfast man was remanded for sentence yesterday after pleading guilty at the Crown Court to a catalogue of sex offences, some dating back nearly 35 years, against two daughters and three grandchildren.
Mr Justice Pringle refused to release the man on bail after hearing that police feared for his safety. The defendant, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the victims, admitted a total of 20 charges of gross indecency and indecent assault committed between 1964 and 1996. Four of the victims, two daughters now aged 38 and 31, and two granddaughters, now 21 and 19, were in court to hear him admit his abuse of them.
Crown counsel Mr Ken McMahon QC told the judge the offences had come to light on Mother's Day in 1996, when another daughter had surprised her father in the kitchen with his six-year-old grandson. "This was the catalyst for everything coming out and the matter snowballed from there."
Mr McMahon added that when interviewed the defendant claimed he did not know if the offences occurred as he did not remember committing them. The man claimed he had a memory problem, having being hit on the head at work 20 years earlier. He was remanded in custody for sentence at the end of May after medical and probation reports have been prepared.