A Sligo man who subjected his two daughters to “a catalogue of horrors” has been jailed for 14 years at the Central Criminal Court.
The man raped and sexually abused the girls over a 16 year period in the 1980s and 1990s. One daughter told gardaí she first recalled her father abusing her when she was between five and 10 years old.
The man (65) who can't be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty on his trial date to 16 sample counts of indecent assault, unlawful sexual intercourse, rape and buggery of two daughters between 1980 and 1996 at a Sligo location.
He pleaded guilty to four counts of indecent assault and two counts each of unlawful sexual intercourse and buggery of one daughter on dates between August 1980 and August 1986.
He pleaded guilty to four counts of indecent assault and two counts each of oral and anal rape of the second daughter on dates between September 1984 and June 1996.
Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy said the victims had undergone "a catalogue of horrors" over the years and noted the Director of Public Prosecutions believed the abuse to be at the upper end on the scale. He also observed the man had only entered a guilty plea when he saw his daughters in court ready to give evidence against him.
However, the judge said the courts "must be guided by the light of reason" and took into account the man's age and health difficulties. He sentenced him to eight years for one victim and six for the other, to run consecutively with each other, meaning a total of 14 years. He had previously declared the man a sex offender.