Man jailed for raping partner’s daughter

The mother of a girl repeatedly raped over a 10-year period only found out about the abuse when she saw inappropriate messages on her partner’s Facebook account from the man telling the child he loved her and would wait for her.

Roscommon man Andrew McCarthy was yesterday sentenced to 15 years with three suspended.

The 35-year-old began raping his former partner’s daughter in 2006 when she was nine years old after taking her to a seaside town. In a victim impact report the woman said McCarthy took her innocence and childhood from her and left her a broken person.

McCarthy, of Ballymoe, Castlerea, pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal to 11 counts covering the rape, oral rape and sexual assault of the child at houses in Dublin and Galway on dates between May 2006 and January 2011. The sample counts are from a total of 27 charges.

Elva Duffy, prosecuting, told the court the victim is happy for McCarthy to be identified.

Mr Justice Paul Carney said one aggravating factor in the case was the fact that McCarthy would ply the victim with alcohol to the point that she suffered liver damage. He also noted that McCarthy photographed and video-recorded the abuse.

He suspended the final three years of a 15-year sentence on condition McCarthy stay away from the victim and undergo 18 months of post-release supervision. The judge also ordered that McCarthy be registered as a sex offender.

The court heard McCarthy first molested the child in the summer of 2006 after taking her to a seaside amusement arcade where the court heard she had won two big teddies. He took her back to a relative’s house where they had to share a bed.

Around Christmas that year he began asking her about the possibility of her giving him oral sex. Sometime in 2009 he had raped her after she had said no to him. He told her it would be easier if she just agreed and “got it over with”.

During this time her mother’s health wasn’t very good and McCarthy would tell her not to tell her mother about the abuse because it might disturb her.

He would promise to drive her places, but later make it conditional on her performing oral sex on him. He did this 10 times in a three-month period in 2009. He also began driving her to a lake area where he would rape her on the bonnet of the car.

In a victim impact report the woman said instead of being a father figure McCarthy instilled nothing but fear in her for ten years.

She said she was too young to understand what he was doing until she went into fifth class. After that she felt disgusting all the time. She was bullied in school and her Leaving Certificate suffered because of an earlier trial during which he had pleaded not guilty.

She said his actions left a wedge within her family.

“I don’t sleep. I always feel scared and vulnerable. I never feel safe. I have contemplated suicide. I have nightmares. I felt disgusting, insecure, used. I cannot open up to anybody,” she said.