Court reserves judgement in case of man accused of raping daughter

The Court of Criminal Appeal has today reserved judgement in the case of a Laois man appealing against his life sentence for the repeated rape and sexual assault of his daughter over a 10-year period.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was sentenced to life imprisonment by Mr Justice Paul Carney in March 2006, having pleaded guilty to 32 charges of rape and sexual assault against his daughter, which began when she was just seven years old.

Mr Justice Carney ordered that the life sentence run consecutively to a 20-year prison term already imposed on the man for sexually abusing three other girls between 1975 and 1984, as five of the offences against his daughter were committed whilst he was on bail awaiting trial for these earlier charges.

Counsel for the applicant, Mr Michael O’Higgins SC, said that although the man had committed a heinous offence, it had not come “anywhere near” the worse case imaginable and that the decision to impose a life sentence was “excessive”.

He said that current statistics indicated the man may serve a cumulative sentence in excess of 30 years, whereas an individual in jail for capital murder would in fact serve a lesser sentence.

Mr O’Higgins said that although the offences were “particularly repulsive”, the man had not committed an extraordinary crime, and that those who pleaded guilty to similar offences “regularly, if not predominantly” received sentences of between eight and 12 years.

He said when imposing sentence, the trial judge should have considered the length of the existing 20-year sentence and whether the imposition of a consecutive life term would offend the totality principle.

Mr O’Higgins said that the evidence showed the offences were not accompanied by violence and that there had to be a “qualitative difference” between an adult who has sex with a child and an adult who beats a child and sexually abuses them.

He said the trial judge had also failed to give due weight to the fact that the man had proffered an early plea of guilty, had offered a sum of money in compensation to his daughter and had apologised for his actions.

Counsel for the State, Mr Paul Greene SC, said the real issue at stake was whether the length of sentence imposed on the man should have been determined by the fact it would run consecutive to an existing 20-year sentence.

Mr Greene said that there was an aspect of public protection in sentencing practice and that there was “no clearer need” for protection than in this case, as the man had continued to abuse his daughter whilst awaiting trial on sexual abuse offences.

Presiding judge Mr Justice Adrian Hardiman, sitting with Mr Justice Declan Budd and Mr Justice Daniel O’Keeffe, said that the court would return judgement at a later date as there was no “fast and easy” way of resolving the application.