Stepfather jailed for 12 years for rape

A man has been given a 12-year sentence for raping and sexually abusing his three step-children.

The 54-year-old man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his victims, abused the two girls and one boy after starting a relationship with their mother and moving to Ireland from abroad.

Last month at the Central Criminal Court, Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy imposed a 12-year sentence for abuse of the two youngest children, while Ms Justice Margaret Heneghan imposed another 12 years for abuse of the eldest child. Both sentences will run at the same time.