Man jailed for 2 years for sex abuse

A retired security man was yesterday jailed for two years at Limerick Circuit Court for the sexual abuse of two sisters, one of whom was just four at the time.

Patrick Body, aged 65, of Ennistymon, Co Clare, and formerly with a Limerick address, pleaded guilty to one charge of sexually assaulting one of the sisters in 1990 when she was aged four, and four charges of indecently assaulting her when she was aged between four and 15.

He also pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting the second girl on two occasions in 2005 and 2006 when she was 17.

The court heard that the sexual and indecent assaults of the younger girl involved sexually assaulting her on an almost continuous basis.

The assaults on the second girl occurred when he gave her driving lessons and put his hands inside her jeans.

In victim impact statements the younger victim at the time, now aged 27, said she had turned to drugs and had suicidal thoughts as a result of the abuse.

The second victim, now aged 25, said the accused had destroyed her life.

Passing sentence, Judge Carroll Moran said the abuse of the girl when she was four, occurred three and four times a day. It was carried out on a continuous basis, he said.

Another aggravating factor was that this abuse was being carried out on a very young girl aged between four and seven. “This was particularly troublesome,” said Judge Moran.

The abuse of the second victim when she was 17, happened in 2005 and 2006, when everybody was aware, that society and the law did not tolerate child abuse.

The judge imposed a four-year term, suspending the final two years, and ordered that Body’s name be placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years.