A MAN who sexually assaulted a neighbour’s young daughter has been jailed for three years by Judge Desmond Hogan at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
The 21-year-old man pleaded guilty to one representative count of sexually assaulting the then 10- year-old girl in October, 2005.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, initially pleaded not guilty to six charges of sexual assault but reversed his plea the day after the jury at his trial was discharged in October last year. The victim had already given evidence by video-link on the opening day of the initial trial.
Judge Hogan said that what the victim’s mother told the court was harrowing in the extreme.
He said that the fact that the man, as a 17-year-old, had exercised such power over a 10- year-old girl made the offence a most grievous one.
He had to have first regard to the effect of the abuse on the young girl herself as well as the “awful hurt” the man’s actions had caused to the girl’s mother.
Judge Hogan said that he was sure the man’s family “would rather be anywhere else other than here, listening to me”.
He accepted that the man had spared the victim the trauma of a full trial but told his defence counsel that had the case gone to trial, he would have handed down a much longer sentence.
Sgt Michelle Gethings told Donal Keane, prosecuting, that both the man and the victim were residents of the same small rural community. She said the victim attended a local primary school and was minded at the man’s home up to four days a week after school.
Sgt Gethings said the victim would be “given the nod” to go to upstairs where the man, who was aged 17 at the time, would show her pornographic images before touching her indecently.
Paul Green, SC, defending, said a report had found that his client was of low average intelligence and was at a low risk of reoffending.
In a victim impact statement which was read to the court, the victim’s mother said that her daughter, who had once been bright, carefree and “full of giggles” before the abuse became nervous and withdrawn afterwards.
Judge Hogan denied an application to have part of the sentence suspended.