An uncle convicted of the child sexual abuse of his “favourite” niece in the 1990s, leaving her suffering decades of trauma and family isolation, has been jailed for three years.
“You are the most horrible and disgusting man I have ever endured. The pain you put me through; I was blackmailed to keep it quiet, sure I wasn’t to know any different,” Helena Flynn (42) told her abuser.
Mark O’Neill (58) from Battery Heights, Athlone, and recently of Belvedere Court, Mullingar, both in Co Westmeath, was aged 23 to 25 years, and Ms Flynn, who has waived her right to anonymity, was aged eight to 10 years at the time of the abuse.
He had denied the allegations, but a jury at Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court returned guilty verdicts on eight counts of sexually assaulting her between April 1991 and March 1993 at her childhood home in Athlone.
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He was remanded in custody in May and faced sentencing on Monday before Judge Kenneth Connolly.
“I’m going to grab this new life of mine with both hands, enjoy all the years I’ve lost. It’s never too late. I came into court a victim and came out a survivor,” Ms Flynn told the court.
Det Gda David Mead, with the Protective Services Unit for Westmeath/Meath, agreed with prosecuting barrister Cathal Ó Braonáin , instructed by State solicitor Matt Shaw, that the accused often visited the complainant’s home.
A former milkman, O’Neill would watch horse racing with her stepfather and go socialising with her mother.
The abuse happened when he stayed over three nights a week and slept on a spare bed in her room.
The court heard how he took her from her own bed and put her into the one he was using, with her back to his front. He also told her she would be “taken away” if she disclosed the abuse.
Judge Connolly noted that among the numerous aggravating factors, there was an element of grooming and that he had called her his favourite niece and would give her special treatment.
He also took into account the age disparity and the egregious breach of trust.
The court heard that when she confronted him in the late 1990s, telling him she would report him, he got in a “pre-emptive strike” by going to her mother first, saying she was telling lies about him.
The court heard her mother spoke to her, warning her that another family member would “stab her to death”, so she did not tell anyone.
As a child, she began self-harming by biting herself on her arms, leaving marks, and her mother and stepfather warned her to stop in case her school noticed.
In 2009, she moved to the North, and throughout her life had suffered severe effects, which led to multiple suicide attempts and having to seek counselling.
In a moving victim impact statement, Ms Flynn spoke out about the pain her uncle inflicted on her. She recalled being unable to think straight as a girl, and her education suffered.
“You have broken a beautiful little girl, because you thought it was okay, because you kept probably thinking it wouldn’t come out. You have hurt me physically, mentally, my innocence was taken away by you.
“I can still hear the screams, the cries, terrified to sleep, as I knew what you were doing was wrong, the most horrific thing a baby girl had to deal with.”
She wanted to see him behind bars and hoped this case would encourage other victims to come forward.
O’Neill was interviewed by gardaí for four hours, denied the charges, and still maintains his innocence. He sat impassively during the sentence hearing, did not address the court, and showed no remorse.
Defence counsel Andrea Callan asked the judge to note her client had a history of mental health treatment since 2012, particularly for anxiety; he had cared for his sick father and helped his family with odd jobs.
The judge imposed a 42-month term, but taking into account that he had no further convictions since the time of the abuse, he suspended the final six months on condition that O’Neill does not reoffend within 12 months.
Judge Connolly made a further direction that O’Neill must never contact Ms Flynn again or have any unsupervised contact with females under 18 for the rest of his life.
A probation report found he was a low risk of reoffending.
