A teenager staying with relatives in west Cork while his mother was ill was sexually assaulted by his drunken uncle, Cork Criminal Circuit Court heard yesterday. The 36-year-old defendant, who cannot be named to protect his victim's identity, pleaded guilty to the assault on October 19th, 1997, when his nephew was aged 15.
The court was told the teenager awoke on the night of the attack to find his uncle on top of him. He was "greatly upset and distressed" and still receiving counselling, he said in evidence.
The defendant had a severe drink problem, the court heard, and although he had a history of petty crime and served a jail sentence for an assault on a garda, there was no record of sexual offences. Judge Murphy sentenced him to 18 months in jail.