A Cork man who raped his partner's 15-year-old daughter has been given a seven-year suspended sentence by Mr Justice Lavan at Dublin Central Criminal Court.
The 44-year-old accused, from east Co Cork, pleaded guilty to three charges of raping the teenage girl on dates in 1996 and 1997. Det Sgt Brian Goulding told prosecuting counsel, Mr Patrick MacCarthy SC, that in September 1998 the girl gave birth to a baby girl as result of one of the rapes which occurred in December 1997.
Det Goulding said that on August 21st, 1998, the defendant was invited to make a statement and admitted having sex with the girl on two or three occasions. He failed to see the gravity of the offences. The victim was described as having a mild learning disability and was in the care of the Southern Health Board at the time. She used to come home on weekends when the offences are alleged to have occurred.
Defence counsel, Mr Ciaran O'Loughlin SC, asked for sentence to be put back so his client could undergo medical and psychological examination. Mr O'Loughlin said prison was not going to make the defendant understand the seriousness of the offences. Justice Lavan denied the application. He took into account that the defendant pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and was satisfied, according to the "very fair evidence" of Det Goulding, that it was a first offence. He suspended the sentence of all three counts on the condition that the defendant entered into a bond to be of good behaviour for seven years.