12 years for sex attacks on four sisters; Convicted rapist preyed upon partner’s daughters in their home

A Dublin man who sexually abused four sisters in their home has been given a 12-year sentence.

The accused, aged 49, pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to six counts of sexual assault against the four girls on dates between 2002 and 2004.

The man, who has a previous conviction for rape, was the partner of the girls’ mother and was living with them in the family home when the assaults occurred.

The eldest victim was aged between 12 and 13 when she was abused, and each of her three younger sisters were assaulted on one occasion each, with the youngest being seven years old.

Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy noted the man’s guilty pleas and expression of remorse. She also took into account the severe effect the offences had on the victims.

She imposed consecutive sentences totalling 12 years and ordered a four-year probation supervision.

The investigating garda said the accused came to live in the home in 2001 and sexually assaulted the eldest daughter on an near-daily basis for a year and a half.

He said the accused cared for the sisters when they came home from school while their mother worked and regularly sent the younger sisters out to play while he abused the eldest in her bedroom.

The garda said the victim told him that the only day she could remember that she was not assaulted was the day of her confirmation.

The garda said the accused threatened to kill the eldest sister if she told her mother about the sexual assaults.

She revealed to a teacher what had happened to her and a complaint was made to gardaí in 2005.

The garda said the accused was arrested in April 2005 but never charged. He said the accused was remanded in custody in the UK in April 2013 on a separate matter.

He said the accused man’s previous convictions included one for rape in 1995.

Tara Burns, prosecuting, read out victim impact reports from each of the four girls, two of whom were in court with their mother.

The eldest daughter said she left home at 18 as she “couldn’t stomach to be in the same house he abused me in” and she no longer celebrated birthdays or Christmases with her family.

She said she felt she was “holding her children back” as she did not leave them with anyone, including friends and family members.

The second-eldest sister also said she no longer had relationships with her mother or sisters and the family home was “no longer a happy place”.

The second-youngest sister said she “cannot look at her mother the way she used to” and blamed her mother for the assaults.

The youngest sister said she no longer had relationships with her sisters or mother and fell behind in college due to thinking about the court case.

She said she felt confused as she liked the accused as a person and blamed herself for the assaults.

Michael Bowman, defending, said the accused was serving a sentence for rape when he met the victims’ mother through her brother. He moved into the family home straight from prison.

He said the accused did not know his father and suffered verbal and physical abuse at the hands of his stepfather when he was a child.