A Circuit Court judge yesterday paid tribute to the "remarkable courage" of a woman who was sexually abused as a child over a period of five years by a man who lived with her mother.
Sentencing the 44-year-old man to six years in prison, Judge Joseph Mathews said the victim had been "robbed of her childhood" by a person responsible for her care.
A jury at Clonmel Circuit Court returned a unanimous verdict of guilty on 10 charges of indecent assault, one of unlawful carnal knowledge and one of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. The offences occurred in north Tipperary between 1985 and 1990, when the victim was aged between eight and 13.
The victim, now aged 22, gave evidence during the two-day trial that the abuse took place in the bathroom, bedroom and living-room of her home while her mother and brother, who have both since died, were sleeping or were out of the house.