Dublin fireman gets seven years for having sex with girl, 16

A fireman with an “unblemished” 30 years serving with Dublin Fire Brigade has been sentenced to seven years for having a sexual relationship with a child.

Ron Tulie, aged 57, met his victim while teaching a first aid and fire safety course in 2008, when she was 16.

Garda Declan Sherlock told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court that the teenager, who had felt that she was in love with Tulie, suffered severe long-term psychological effects.

Tulie, a father of four of Pinevalley Park, Rathfarnham, Dublin, pleaded guilty to four counts of having sex with a child under 17 at the Dublin Mountains between June 1 and July 27, 2008.

Judge Desmond Hogan said Tulie would be registered as a sex offender, named in the media, and had lost the support of his family. He suspended the final two years of the sentence.

The woman said she met Tulie for consensual sex about five times. Gda Sherlock told Ms Lacey that Tulie had not worn a condom on any of those occasions.

The victim told gardaí she felt she had been in love with Tulie but realised she was being used for sex when the relationship ended in 2009.

Gda Sherlock said the girl became ill and her education suffered.

Gda Sherlock agreed with Mary Rose Gearty, defending, that her client left the fire brigade voluntarily because of the case.