'Grandfather figure' gets three years for sexually assaulting girl

A Limerick man described as a "grandfather figure" who sexually assaulted a young girl has been given a three-year prison sentence by Mr Justice John Edwards at the Central Criminal Court.

The 61-year-old man was convicted by a jury earlier this month on two charges of sexually assaulting her on dates in 1998 and 2001 but acquitted on 40 further charges, including 12 of raping her.

The jury at the trial returned the guilty verdicts by 10-2 majority following almost five hours deliberation and then returned the 40 not guilty verdicts a further two-and-a-half hours later. It was day-six of the hearing and the seven men and five women spent one night in a hotel.

Mr Justice Edwards suspended the final 20 months of the sentence and directed that the man's name be added to the register of sexual offenders and that he undergo one year's post release supervision.

Mr Justice Edwards also directed that no particulars about the trial or the man can be published in the media which might lead to the now 16-year-old girl's identification by the public.

The victim had declared in the witness box that she wanted him named in the media but the judge said that, as she was a minor, the court had no discretion in the matter because the protection of children was paramount in Irish legislation. The girl's mother couldn't give authority on the victim's behalf regarding this issue.

He had pleaded not guilty at the start of his trial to 43 charges - 12 of rape and 31 of sexual assault of the complainant - on dates from 1998 to 2005, in Limerick.

Mr Justice Edwards directed the jury to return a not guilty verdict on one of the rape charges, following a submission by defence counsel, Mr Brendan Nix SC (with Mr Philip Moloney BL), at the end of the State case.

The teenager had claimed the man sexually assaulted her almost every day she was alone with him from the time she was "very young" and that he raped her for the first time when she was 11.

She denied a suggestion by Mr Nix that she had been "coached" in relation to her evidence and disagreed also with him that the phrase "he abused our trust" used by her was not one typical of a teenager.

The jury heard medical evidence that nothing "abnormal" was found when she was examined.