A tale of broken lives: Victim impact statements detail years of abuse

THE TRAUMA suffered by five children as a result of their abuse and neglect at the hands of their father was laid bare in victim impact statements read out to Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne yesterday.

The man’s 13-year-old son said he believed his father should spend 999 years in prison or “have his head chopped off”.

The statements were read by the children's guardian ad litemwho is representing them in other care proceedings. They were compiled after consultations with the children and their therapists and social workers.

The most traumatic evidence concerned the eldest child, now 14. He was assessed as being unable to live with other children or in a family environment and he is now the sole child in a residential unit.

The statement said he lived “a very isolated life” and had a desperate desire to make friends. He had never been invited to a birthday party. He had difficulty in coping with his emotions and still smeared his faeces on walls, behaviour that further alienated him from other children. He had been suspended from school five times this year and was in danger of losing his school placement.

He constantly blamed himself for his father’s abuse, saying his father hit him “because I was so bad”. The statement said he had very low self esteem and described himself as “the worst child in the whole world”.

He had not seen his sisters in two years at their request and felt a great sense of isolation from his family. He also felt inappropriate levels of responsibility for his younger siblings. The statement said he had a “huge desire” for an apology from his father. It was likely that he would be unable to build and sustain positive nurturing relationships.

His 13-year-old brother had expressed suicidal thoughts and when asked about his future, he said he wanted to “crawl into a black hole and die”.

He is being cared for in a highly specialised unit abroad because of the risk he poses to his own safety. The statement said he blamed his father for the anger he felt and often hit his head to get rid of the memories of his father. He was “a very sad child”.

The two girls, aged seven and 10, live together with a foster family. The eldest girl said she never wanted to see her father again because “I’ll remember all the stuff he did”. She had a “primal fear that one day she will go hungry again” and was a deeply insecure child. She put inordinate pressure on herself to please others and be a good child. She wanted the judge to “make everything right” and to keep her father away from children.

Her younger sister constantly demanded attention from her carers, testing their commitment to her at every opportunity. Sometimes her behaviour regressed to that of an 18-month- old baby, the statement said.

She physically lashed out by biting and scratching and this isolated her from other children. She expressed the fear her father would be let out of prison and would meet up with her birth mother “and start our family back again”. The judge should leave her father in jail “for ever and ever”.

Their eight-year-old brother had no trust in adults and had no friends at school because of his difficult behaviour. He played alone at break time and said he missed his sisters “immensely” . His difficult behaviour meant he was in danger of losing the school placement.

All children would need professional help in the coming years, the statement said.