A 47-year-old Co Meath man who sexually assaulted his niece between the ages of 10 and 14 during "horseplay" at her north-west Dublin home has been jailed for three years by Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
He was convicted last month on four charges of sexually assaulting the girl on dates from 1993 to 1995.
Mr Paul McDermott SC, defending, said the man had got together the sum of £5,000 by way of compensation, but the girl's mother told the court the family were not interested.
The defendant faced 10 charges of sexual assault, but Judge Dominic Lynch withdrew six of these and directed that verdicts of not guilty be recorded on them.
The jury of five women and seven men returned its guilty verdicts on the four remaining charges by an 11-1 majority.