A 59-YEAR-OLD Cork father who raped one of his daughters and sexually abused her and her sister on an almost daily basis as children has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Mr Justice Paul Carney said yesterday he was taking into account the "gratuitous and sadistic cruelty" involved in the offences against the young girls and the effect this had on them.
The accused man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his victims, pleaded guilty to 12 sample counts of indecent assault against both children and one sample count of rape against the eldest of the two. The Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork heard this week that the eldest of the two girls, who is now 37 and married with four children, was indecently assaulted by her father virtually every day and night from the age of six to 11 from October 1977 to March 1983. She was also the subject of the rape offences which took place when she was between seven and eight.
The younger of the sisters, who is now 33 and married with three children, was indecently assaulted from the age of six to 10 between November 1981 and October 1985.
Evidence was given of the relentless abuse the sisters endured at the hands of their father. As well as sexual abuse, the children were subjected to Chinese burns and were forced to stand to attention, on one occasion for eight hours.
Both victims suffered from symptoms of post-traumatic stress and had experienced psychological difficulties as a result of the abuse by their father.
Sentencing the accused man yesterday, Mr Justice Carney said he was taking into account the breach of trust involved in the violation of his daughters, the age of the victims, the multiplicity of the offences involved and the time span over which they extended.
He said he was also taking into account the gratuitous and sadistic cruelty involved in the offences and the effect this had on the victims as disclosed in their victim impact statements.
Mr Justice Carney said he would take into account a number of mitigating factors including the fact that the accused "had been forgiven by one of his victims who pleaded for his leniency" and that he had ongoing family support.
He also took into account the fact that the man had no previous convictions, had a lifetime record of employment and seemed to be genuinely remorseful. He said the dysfunctional background of the accused "offered little in the way of mitigation". The judge sentenced the accused man to 10 years in prison on the count of rape.
Mr Justice Carney imposed a sentence of 18 months for the first indecent assault charge and four years for all of the other charges to run concurrently with the 10-year sentence.
He directed that the accused undergo five years of post-release supervision and ordered his name be placed on the Sex Offenders Register. He refused leave to appeal.