Detention for teen who sexually abused half-sister

A boy aged 16 who sexually abused his half-sister over a six-month period has been sentenced to four years’ detention with the final year suspended.

The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to 13 counts including rape, anal rape, oral rape, and sexual abuse of the girl between February 1, 2014, and August 13, 2014.

The court heard the boy was 14 years old and his half-sister was aged between eight and nine when the abuse occurred in their home in a Midlands town.

The court heard the abuse stopped when the girl confided in her parents, who confronted the boy.

Ms Burns said the boy admitted what he had done to his mother and stepfather and the family went immediately to the gardaí, where the boy repeated his admissions of guilt.

In a victim impact statement read out in court, the girl said she knew now what her half-brother did to her was wrong. She said she had trouble sleeping.

“I dream about what he did to me,” she said. “I’m still annoyed about what he did to me. He shouldn’t have done that to me. I’m his little sister.”

Mary Rose Gearty, defending,

said the boy’s mother and stepfather continued to support him, while also supporting their daughter, and hoped to be able to rehabilitate as a family.