Eight years for man who raped his partner's daughter

A man who told his partner’s 13-year-old daughter he was only wasting his time if she didn’t enjoy him raping her has been jailed for eight years by Mr Justice Paul Carney at the Central Criminal Court.

The 43-year-old Dublin man pleaded guilty to two charges of rape and five of sexual assault of the now 18-year-old victim on dates from October 2003 to March 2004 in a north city suburban area.

He cannot be identified for legal reasons and his guilty plea came after a jury had been sworn in for his trial some weeks ago.

Mr Justice Carney said he was taking into account the heinousness of the crime, the duration of the offences and the breach of trust involved in deciding on sentence. He imposed eight years for the rapes and five years for sexual assault - both sentences to run concurrently. He also placed him on the sex offender register.

Detective Garda Sarah McArdle told prosecuting counsel, Mr Niall Durnin SC (with Mr Colm O Briain BL), that the man first raped the girl after he heard her tell her mother her menstrual periods had started.

He went upstairs after the young girl and pulled her clothes off before telling her she was a liar and hadn’t got her period because she wasn’t wearing sanitary protection. He then raped her.

Det Gda McArdle aid that shortly after this, the girl was meeting a girlfriend near the Artane Roundabout when the man arrived in his car and told her to get in because he was bringing her home.

When the victim got into the car, he shouted at her "You were with that boy again" and then punched her hard when she denied meeting a boy.

Det Gda McArdle said he drove to St Anne’s Park and despite her best efforts to resist, dragged her out of the car over to bushes. She told him she didn’t like him doing this to her but he replied: "This is your own fault. You are the one that flirts with me."

He put his foot down on her leg to stop her getting away and raped her there. Afterwards, he said to her: If you didn’t enjoy that. I’m wasting my time bringing you here."

Det Gda McArdle told Mr Durnin the man then ordered the victim to act normally when they got home so that her mother wouldn’t "suss out" what was going on.