Rape victim with 'exceptional courage' gave evidence six times before offender was convicted

- with reporting from Declan Brennan

A rape victim gave evidence six times in court before the offender was finally convicted and subsequently jailed for seven years.

The Wicklow man, now aged 49, first raped his victim during a game of hide and seek when she was aged approximately nine years old and he was 17 years old.

He raped the girl three more times during that summer and told her not to tell anyone as it was their secret.

The victim came forward to make a statement in 2013 and there were a number of trials which collapsed before the man was convicted by a jury after a trial at the Central Criminal Court in March.

He had pleaded not guilty to four counts of rape and two counts of indecent assault in Co Wicklow on dates between 1987 and 1989.

At the sentencing last May Mr Justice Michael White paid tribute to the “exceptional courage” of the victim who he noted had to give evidence on six occasions during the legal process.

“She showed exceptional courage in the way she comported herself throughout this process,” he said. He said the court was very conscious that serious sexual abuse during childhood affected a person throughout their life.

He commended the woman for conquering these issues and living a normal life.

The details of this hearing have not being reported until now because of issues around whether the press could identify the parties.

Today Mr Justice White ruled that he could not now alter an order, made at the request of the Director of Public Prosecutions to prevent the name of the victim and the rapist being published.

He said that in future it would be prudent if the DPP lawyers clarified the wishes of the victim in relation to their anonymity at the sentence hearing. The victim was not asked what her wishes were in this case.

In her victim impact statement the woman, now a married mother, said she had to think long and hard about coming forward when she was approached by gardaí in 2013.

She said she had “tucked away the horror” of what had happened but ultimately decided to come forward “to right this terrible wrong.”

She described how she was a witness in the long court process with no legal representation or guidance and had to remind herself not to get her hopes up as there was the potential for it all to go wrong.

“All I had was the truth and the knowledge I was doing the right thing,” she told the court.

“You had the opportunity to prevent all this by taking responsibility but again chose the hurtful path of deception. You rolled the dice at our expense and very rightfully lost,” she said.

She said there had been reference during the court case to delay in coming forward, but she said having been through the trial process now, she knows they did the right thing then and her mother had protected her from the trauma of a court case as a child.

The woman thanked her family, the gardaí, court staff, victim support staff and Mr Justice White.

This may be a drop in the ocean of what goes on inside these walls but I will never forget what has been done for me. I finally have justice, peace and closure

In sentencing, Mr Justice White said that the man carried the brutal and cynical rape of an innocent child. He set a headline sentence of 11 years.

He reduced this to seven after taking into consideration the fact that he had led a constructive and exemplary life since this offending.

A local sergeant told Paul Murray BL, prosecuting, that the man, the victim and other children were playing hide and seek when the man persuaded her to go into a shed where he raped her. He told her not to tell anyone it was their secret.

The woman recalled another incident about two weeks later where she was again playing with other children and the man brought her to his bedroom and raped her.

She recalled two more incidents that summer where he brought her to an area of waste ground on the promise of money for sweets and raped her and a further rape in a caravan.

The woman said she was initially unable to tell anyone for fear of what might happen and did not say anything for a number of years.

Her mother became aware of what had happened and gardaí and the HSE were notified but for various reasons her mother did not want the case to proceed at that time. The man denied the allegations when interviewed by the health board.

The woman was approached by gardaí in 2013 and asked if she was now in a position to make a statement. She took time to think about it and decided to do so.

The man was arrested but the interview with him was non-productive.

The woman first gave evidence in a trial in May 2016 but the jury had to be discharged due to witness unavailability. A second trial, in which the woman gave evidence twice, also had a jury discharged due to issues with documents.

Another trial proceeded in March 2019 but the jury was discharged again. A second jury was empanelled and this trial proceeded to conclusion and conviction.

The injured party had given evidence in public and in legal argument in these trials. The defendant also gave evidence and denied all charges during the final trial.

The garda sergeant agreed with John Fitzgerald SC, defending, that none of the juries were discharged due to any fault of his client.

Mr Fitzgerald said this offence had happened while the man was himself a child and he has since lived a good and normal life. He said he had worked at all times, most recently as a general operative and tree surgeon.

He asked the court to take into account the delay in the case which had not been caused by his client. He said the person who committed the offence was a very different person to the man now before the court.

Counsel handed in references to court which he said indicated his client was a supportive friend and family member, a hardworking man and a dedicated father.

He said the client's family and friends perceived him as someone was decent and always there to support other people. Mr Fitzgerald also asked the court to take into account the effect a custodial sentence for his client would have on his son who has special needs.