Judge jails Cork man for sexual abuse of nine girls

A Cork man has been jailed for six years by Mr Justice Paul Carney at the Central Criminal Court for raping and sexually abusing nine young girls over a 14 year period.

The 55-year-old man's victims included eight of his nieces and a neighbour. He pleaded guilty to raping three of the girls and sexually assaulting all nine on dates between 1987 and 2001.

Mr Justice Carney suspended the last 18 months of the sentence taking into account the defendant's early guilty plea which he said freed up a trial date for another case to go ahead.

The court heard the defendant was abusing three girls when he was arrested in 2001 and had since moved from the area that the girls lived in.

Garda Ciara Lee told prosecuting counsel, Mr Dominic McGinn BL, the first girl was abused in 1987 when she was eight. The defendant began rubbing her leg outside her trousers a few times and then began to put his hand inside her clothing and rub her genital area.

The abuse progressed to another level when he began to rub his own penis outside his clothing while touching her genital area. He also held the girl's hand over his penis to make her rub it, telling her it was "magic" and would grow if she rubbed it.

On one occasion in 1989, the defendant began by touching the girl in the same manner but then removed her underwear, rolled on top of her and put his penis inside her vagina. He stopped when she began to scream and that was the last time he abused her.

Gda Lee said the abuse happened about twice a week but there would be a break for a couple of weeks before it started again. She began to take precautions such as wearing tights if she was wearing a skirt, even in summer, and changed her clothes after each time she was abused.

The abuse of the second girl started in 1990 when she was 10 and was of the same nature as the first girl except he raped this girl twice. She did not know whether to tell her mother as she thought she was the only person this was happening to and that she would not be believed.

The third girl was abused from 1993 when she was 13 until she was 17. The defendant tried to touch her again when she was 18 but she was then able to stop him. The abuse took the form of him touching her inside her clothing and making her masturbate him.

Two or three times, his wife was in the house in another room while the girl was being abused and the defendant would keep the door open with his foot to see if his wife was going to come in. He would also give the girl up to £5 after the abuse but she always threw it away.

Gda Lee said the defendant tried to have sex with her in a shed once but they were interrupted when someone knocked at the door.

This girl's sister was also abused by the defendant who started in 1997 when she was 13. The most serious abuse she was subjected to was rubbing outside her clothing. He also began to kiss her on the neck but she pushed him off and asked him what he was doing.

Gda Lee said he began abusing the fifth girl in 1999 when she was around 11 but this only happened on one occasion.

He complemented some new clothes she was wearing and began rubbing her chest. She told him to stop, kicked him in the genital area and ran away. She told the gardai he was never the same towards her after that occasion.

The abuse of the sixth and seventh girls began at the same time in 2000 when they were both nine. The defendant was drunk and told them he would give them £5 if they showed him their privates. He gave them the money after he touched their genital area.

He would also give them cigarettes and alcohol as well as buy them clothing and a mobile phone. It was through one of these girls that the abuse came to light.

Gda Lee said the eighth girl, who was the only one not related to him, was abused from 1996 when she was around seven. It began when the defendant was helping her mend a puncture on her bike and put his arms around her to grope her chest. He also pinned her against a pile of straw another time and began kissing her neck.

There was a break in this abuse until 2001 when the defendant asked her to help him move some items in a loft. When they entered it, he put a cot in front of the door and began to feel her breasts and genital area.

She was too afraid to tell him to stop but when he asked when her mother was getting up, she indicated very soon and he stopped. He later gave her £10.

The abuse of the ninth girl began in 2000 when she was 13 and involved touching of her breasts and genital area. On one occasion, he told her to get into bed beside him but there was no touching on that occasion as she got under a different layer of blankets.

Gda Lee said the abuse came to light when one of the girls' mother was talking about the defendant possibly having a girlfriend. She noticed her daughter became very subdued and asked her if the defendant had ever touched her. The mother had been suspicious of the clothes he had bought for her daughter.

The mother spoke to the mothers of the other girls and a complaint was made to the gardai. The defendant made a full statement to the gardai admitting his responsibility for the abuse.

He moved from the area soon afterwards and had been in custody since May last year although he was entitled to bail.