Rape victim molested his niece, 5, when she was afraid of dark

A man who was raped and sexually assaulted along with his teenage brother has pleaded guilty to molesting his niece.

The 21-year-old Dubliner, who cannot be named, fondled the five-year-old girl on occasions when she would go into his bed at night because she was afraid of the dark and of ghosts.

He pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to two counts of sexually assaulting the child in Dublin on dates between April and November 2011.

Bernard Condon SC, defending, said his client was 13 when he was raped by an older man and forced to engage in sexual acts with his brother while the siblings were in care.

Judge Mary Ellen Ring adjourned the matter to June next year on condition that the abuser continues to attend counselling and stay away from the victim.

Counsel said his client was sorry and had written a letter to the victim which could be read to her by her parents in the future.

The court heard that the parents of the victim believe there have been no adverse consequences and they would prefer to leave her as she is, rather than going over the ordeal again with a child psychologist.

The abuse came to light when the child’s mother was changing her and the girl told her mother not to touch her bum and said the accused had touched her.

The accused denied it at first and told her mother girl she might have accidentally rubbed off him while in his bed. He agreed to take a lie detector test. He failed the test and later confessed to his sisters that he had molested his niece.

He told one sister he did not know why he did it, saying: “I’m sick. There’s no helping me.”

The victim told child specialist interviewers that she would sometimes leave her own bedroom and go into her uncle’s room because she became afraid of ghosts.

The abuser told gardaí: “I’m sorry for doing it, and for lying to my family. I knew it was wrong.”

Judge Ring criticised the prosecution for what she said was a distressing delay in bringing charges against the abuser, given that the man had confessed to the abuse in December 2011. She said the prosecuting authorities should have more regard for the age of the victim.

Anne Rowland BL, for the prosecution, said she would relay the court’s concerns.

Judge Ring she was taking in consideration the accused’s and the significant strides he has made in rehabilitation. However, she said she was concerned that he abused his niece despite having received counselling for the abuse he had suffered himself.

She noted it was the experience of the court that female victims of abuse seldom turn into abusers, while male victims more often go on to offend.