A man will be sentenced later this month for sexually assaulting and raping his young stepdaughter in Leitrim and Mayo over a four-year period.
The man (37) pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to six sample counts of sexual assault and two counts of anally raping his stepdaughter in their home between 2004 and 2008 from when she was six years old.
Det Garda David Donnelly said the man attended voluntarily at a Garda station and made full admissions after the victim revealed details of the abuse to her mother while on holiday.
Det Gda Donnelly agreed with Kerida Naidoo, defending, that his client had displayed elements of self-loathing during the interview, described himself as a “sicko” and expressed remorse. When gardaí asked him to explain his behaviour he replied: “It’s either genetic or, in layman’s terms, there’s a screw loose.”