Uncle jailed for abuse of 2 nieces

A Dublin man who sexually abused two of his nieces has been given a seven-year sentence.

The 43-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was last July convicted by a jury at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court of 41 counts of sexual assault against the two girls on dates between 1991 and 2009. The jury disagreed on two further counts.

The older girl was aged 8-13 while she was abused between 1991 and 1996 and her younger sister was aged 6-11 while she was abused from 2003 to 2009.

Judge Sarah Berkeley imposed consecutive sentences totalling seven years and suspended the final two years. She ordered three years of post-release supervision and the accused is now on the sex offenders register.

In her victim impact statement, the older girl said her innocence had been taken by her uncle. The younger girl said she had been embarrassed by the abuse.

Gardaí became aware of the allegations in 2010 and, during interview, the accused totally denied all the allegations. He has no previous convictions.

The older girl described how, when she was eight, the man called her into his room at the family home to listen to music. She said she was lying on the bed when the accused put his hand on her leg, moved up to her vagina, pulled down her shorts, and looked at her vagina. Further incidents of abuse included rubbing his penis against her vagina, kissing between her legs, and trying to put her hand on his penis.

He said that if she told anybody she would be taken off her parents and put into care.

The younger girl described her uncle abusing her on a regular basis by grabbing her bottom, kissing her neck, and putting his hand inside her trousers. She was afraid if she told anyone the family would be split up.

Padraig Dwyer, defending, handed in a number of letters from the man’s family which described him as a caring and kind individual.