'Devout-Christian' jailed for abusing girl 20 years ago

A 74 year-old Laois "devout Christian" who told a young female relative that if she revealed he was raping her the "shock would kill" her mother has been jailed for six years by Mr Justice Paul Carney.

He pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to 16 charges of raping her on various dates from 1977 to 1981 and to one charge of indecently assaulting her in a shed on a date between May 1976 and 1977.

Sergeant Liam Colley told prosecuting counsel, Ms Rosario Boyle SC (with Ms Martina Baxter BL), that the victim was 12 when the abuse started and it continued until she was 16 and moved away from the area.

Sgt Colley told Ms Boyle the man told gardaí he targeted the victim because she "wasn't as bright as the rest of the children". He said he felt remorse after each occasion and it would take him "at least a month to get over" before he began the abuse again.

The woman told gardaí she thought the rapes had happened as often as twice a week.

She said in her victim impact statement that she still wondered if the man picked her "because I am thick."

Her religious upbringing had left her very confused about what had happened to her and she said that until she received counselling she considered herself a "pervert" and could not give her own children the love they deserved.

She said that despite having a degree she was unable to find a job because she suffered from depression and anxiety and often self harmed and drank excessively

"Sometimes I take so many tablets that I end up hugging the toilet bowl all day."

Defence counsel, Mr John Peart SC, said the man had shown genuine remorse and had written to the victim to ask her forgiveness. "He was a devout Christian and has been active in various Pentecostal societies."

Speaking in his defence, a friend of the man and his wife told Mr Justice Carney that the man was well respected within the local community.

"I regard him as reliable, a staunch man, a good friend who has helped me. He is respected in the area. He is a respected man."

The man told Mr Peart from the witness box that he felt "disgusted and absolutely shamed". He said he thought the victim would "feel humiliated and quite dirty because of what happened to her." He said his wife suffered from ill health and he was her primary carer.

Mr Justice Carney said that while there was an obvious reluctance to a sentence that could mean someone died in jail he could not ignore the gravity of the offence and the effect it had on the victim.

He said he was taking into consideration the man's early plea of guilty and his wife's reliance on him but a custodial sentence was necessary.

He sentenced him to six years in prison with three years post release supervision and ordered him to be registered a sex offender.