'Childhood monster' admits repeated rape of daughter

A Cork man who was described by his daughter as her “childhood monster”, has been jailed for 12 years for raping and sexually abusing her throughout her childhood.

The 45-year-old man pleaded guilty to four counts of raping and seven counts of sexually assaulting his daughter between March 1993 and December 1998.

Mr Justice Paul Carney handed down a 12-year jail-term for the offences and declared the man a sex offender.

He noted the break of trust, age of the victim and the long period over which the offences were committed.

In the man’s favour the judge noted his plea of guilty and that he had a history of working to support his family.

The judge also ordered he undergo 18 months post release supervision before remanding him in custody.

The abuse started when the victim was just eight years old. Her father had threatened that if she told anyone, her brothers would be taken away.

When the victim was 13, her mother found out about the abuse and confronted the father, who admitted everything.

He was thrown out of the house and did not see his daughter again until she was 20 years old.

The now 26-year-old victim was emotional as she read her victim impact statement and broke down in of tears throughout.

“I used to dread when we were alone together or when he took me for a spin in the car because I knew what would happen,” she said.

She told the court that she was raped “almost every day” and had “lived a tortured life”.

The court heard that she abused drink and drugs as a result of the abuse and also struggled with depression, often feeling suicidal.

“He raped me almost every day,” she said, before describing her father as her “childhood monster”.

The Cork woman told the court that she struggled with male relationships and said: “I hope one day I will be able to feel good about myself.”

At one point the woman looked directly at her father and angrily asked: “One question keeps going around in my head. Why did you hurt me?”

She said her father had said sorry but had shown no remorse, adding: “Sorry is just a word.”

Detective Garda Conor McCarthy told Garret Baker BL prosecuting that the man was arrested in February last year after the sexual abuse was brought to the attention of gardaí.

He admitted to everything but said it did not happen as often as claimed, but added that he would not go against his daughter’s statement.

Det Gda McCarthy said that on the first occasion, when the victim was eight years old, she awoke in the middle of the night to find her father’s head underneath the covers.

He told the court that the abuse became more extreme and he started raping his daughter “on a daily basis”.

The court heard that on one occasion the father made his daughter pretend to be sick so she could stay home from school.

Det Gda McCarthy said that the man would regularly bring his daughter on trips in his van where she would be abused.

The detective said the man named one of the chairs in the sitting room “the magic chair”. When he said: “Let’s go to the magic chair”, she knew what was about to happen.

He told the court that it was in the woman’s statement that this had happened “nearly every morning”.

Det Gda McCarthy said the girl felt “horrible, confused and ashamed” during the abuse as well as suffering from depression.

During Garda interview, the man admitted: “I raped her, simple as,” adding that it happened “on occasion”.

He claimed not to know exactly how often it occurred but confirmed the time frame of the abuse.

“The only assumption I have is that we got too close,” he said.

The court heard that the man was now living with his elderly, invalid mother and had previously worked as a plasterer and in an ice cream van.

Defence Counsel, Mr Paddy McEntee SC, said his client accepted without reservation that his daughter is truthful, and is sorry for what he did.

“He is ashamed of himself and there is nothing he wouldn’t do to help her,” he said adding: “He has lost a child to his own gross crimes.”