A Donegal grandfather was found guilty yesterday on 60 charges of sexual assault on three of his granddaughters after a four-day hearing at the Circuit Court in Letterkenny.
The 69-year-old man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his victims, denied sexually assaulting the girls when they were between the ages of eight and 16.
The girls, now aged 19, 18 and 15, gave evidence of how their grandfather kissed and touched them in an inappropriate way, usually when their grandmother was babysitting or at work.
The allegations of abuse from the eldest victim only came to light after she ran away from home in April 1998 and was taken to the local Garda station when she was found the next day. The two younger sisters made their allegations shortly after that.
While the girls' mother, the daughter of the accused, was being cross-examined by Mr Barry White SC for the defence, she told the court that she had been abused by her father when she was a teenager.
All of the incidents except one happened in various houses the grandparents lived in; the other happened in his car after he had left his wife off to work.
The defendant denied the charges and argued that none of the three girls were ever in his house on their own with him. He denied that he told his second victim that it was their "wee secret" or that he gave two of his victims 20 or 30 pence after the abuse session.
Judge Joseph Matthews adjourned sentencing for victim impact reports and medical and psychological reports.
He remanded the convicted man on bail and ordered that he remain in the jurisdiction, not apply for a passport and report to his local Garda station every second Saturday.