Man, 70, watched other man rape and abuse child

A man has admitted deriving sexual pleasure from watching the sexual abuse and rape by another man of a child as young as 10.

The 70-year-old from the Midlands looked on while the child was being abused over a four-year period, but declined an offer from the abuser to have sex with the girl or her sisters.

In June, the accused man pleaded guilty at Longford Circuit Court to four charges of sexual exploitation of a girl on unknown dates between 2005 and 2009 by watching her being sexually assaulted and raped.

The child was aged 10 when the abuse started and the incidents had escalated to rape by the time she was 14. The abuse took place in the pensioner’s home.

The abuser has been jailed for 15 years for his part in the abuse of the girl and other members of her family. Neither he nor the pensioner can be named in order to protect the identity of the victims.

The incidents came to light when a sister of the girl contacted gardaí to tell them her mother’s partner had been abusing family members for years.

When interviewed, the pensioner made several admissions. He told gardaí he had watched the sex assaults and agreed he had been aroused by them. However, he told of being afraid of the abuser, describing him as “a living danger”.

The court was told he had been dominated by the other man, who had taken advantage of him after the death of his wife and at a time when he was vulnerable. His counsel confirmed that the pensioner had himself engaged in a sexual relationship with the abuser.

In court yesterday, Judge Tony Hunt described the background to the case as “appalling”. He had been amazed when the evidence emerged and still was.

Judge Hunt said he wanted to fully consider the content of the psychologist’s report before passing sentence.