'You made me afraid to be in the same room as you': Father jailed for repeated rape and abuse of daughter
A 14-year-old girl has told the Central Criminal Court that she is 'standing proud and happy that I spoke up' in relation to her father’s repeated rape and abuse of her when she was a younger child. File picture
A 14-year-old girl has told the Central Criminal Court that she is “standing proud and happy that I spoke up” in relation to her father’s repeated rape and abuse of her when she was a younger child.
The 45-year-old man pleaded guilty to four charges of rape and eight charges of sexual assault of his daughter in their Co Wexford home on dates between January 2022 and June 2024.
The State accepted these pleas on the basis that they were sample charges and representative of a pattern of repeated abuse of the girl from the time she was 11 years old.
The girl’s mother and the accused’s wife read a victim impact statement she had prepared, in which she repeatedly praised the courage and bravery of her daughter.
She said her daughter’s life has been “profoundly impacted” by the abuse, but that the girl has shown “extraordinary courage and bravery”.
“She stood here with dignity and courage to face a man who should have loved her and kept her safe.
“Today she stands tall and has demonstrated more bravery than most people will show in a lifetime. I am immensely proud of her,” she said.
“She is a remarkable young woman; loving, caring, kind, respectful, thoughtful, and polite. She always has a smile on her face. She is courageous, strong, and a fighter. She has a kind heart and possesses strength far beyond her years,” the woman continued.
“She never allowed these actions to define her. She is defined by the incredible courage she has shown in speaking out and speaking her truth.
“She is my hero. She continues to demonstrate love, kindness, and compassion to all those around her,” her mother said.
The woman spoke of how her husband had supported her when she finally got the courage to report to gardaí, in January 2024, the abuse that she herself had suffered as a child.
She described it as “a betrayal beyond words” that the husband she had been with for 24 years, a man who understood that her greatest fear as a mother was that her own children would be abused, “was sexually abusing our daughter at the same time”.
“You knew all of this and you still made my fear come true,” the woman said turning to speak directly to the man.
She said she could never believe that the man she had been with since she was 15 years old “was capable of such horrific acts”.
“He was aware of my own childhood sexual abuse and my determination to protect them (their children) from ever experiencing the trauma I experienced yet he became the person I was trying to protect them from”.
The girl took the stand to read the final part of her victim impact statement to her father as he sat in the dock.
She said he made her life a living hell — “you made me afraid to be in the same room or under the same roof as you”.
“I am standing proud and happy that I spoke up,” the girl said before she pointed at a large group of supporters sitting in the body of the court — “look at all the people who came here and believed me today”.
The abuse came to light in March 2025 when the then 14-year-old girl phoned her older brother and told him that their father had been sexually abusing her. She then told her mother, and it was immediately reported to gardaí.
The girl made two attempts to sit down with specialist gardaí to be interviewed, but she was unable to continue with the process until November 2025.
Her father was interviewed and admitted that he had touched his daughter inappropriately after removing their clothing. He denied the allegations of rape made by the teenager.
A local detective told the court that the teenager told gardaí that she was first abused when she was 11 years old. She asked her father to stop more than once. She said she was “pretty sure” he had raped her five times or more and sexually abused her regularly — “about twice a week”.
Passing sentence on Thursday, Mr Justice Paul McDermott said the voice of the victim is always important to hear from the court’s point of view, referring to the victim impact statement read out at a previous hearing.
He said it expresses the way the offending has had an impact on the victim, highlighting the “fear” the child was put under.
Mr Justice McDermott spoke directly to the injured party, telling her: “In many of these cases the perpetrator does not believe that the victim will stand up and come forward. People may think that they will not be believed, but you are an example to them that they will be believed.”
He said there is a process that works and serves a victim like the girl.
The judge noted that there was a probation report before the court which showed that the defendant had limited insight into his behaviour. The report outlined that the man had a lack of insight into the long-term harm that was done to his daughter and limited understanding of the breach of trust that was involved.
The Probation Service concluded by stating that it could have a future role in the defendant's management upon release from custody.
Mr Justice McDermott said the aggravating factors were clear as the offending was committed by a father against his daughter in the family home.
He noted the young age, the frequency of the offending, and the severe impact it has had on the girl.
The judge took into account that the commission of this offending took place in a child's bedroom in her family home, a place where she was entitled to feel safe.
He set a headline sentence of 17 years for each of the rape counts and 10 years for each of the sexual assault counts.
The judge outlined that mitigating factors including that the defendant took some accountability at an early stage and later indicated that a trial would not be required; he has accepted full responsibility for what he has done; and he has no previous convictions and a good work history.
Mr Justice McDermott said there must be a lengthy prison sentence. He sentenced the man to 13 years for the rape of his daughter and seven years and six months for the sexual assault, all of which are to run concurrently.
He suspended the final 12 months of the sentence for three years and placed the defendant under the supervision of the Probation Service, where he is to follow all directions and treatments deemed necessary by them.
The judge ordered that the defendant is to have no direct or indirect contact with the injured party, including via social media, unless written permission is given by the girl's mother while she is under the age of 18 or after she turns 18; the girl must give written permission to the defendant before any contact can be made.
The defendant is to have no unsupervised access to anyone under the age of 18.,
Finally, Justice McDermott said there are clear concerns expressed by the Probation Service, and there is no clear understanding as to why this offending occurred. He placed the defendant under post-release supervision for eight years.
The detective agreed with Gerardine Small SC, defending, that the man had been effectively living in a van since the abuse was disclosed after an order was put in place that he could not return to the family home.
It was further acknowledged that he told gardaí he regretted “every bit of it”.
Ms Small said her client appreciates the harm he has caused when he had been “effectively mandated” to protect his own daughter.
She said it is also accepted that the abuse occurred in the family home where the child should have been safe.
Counsel asked the court to accept the man’s “expression of remorse and acknowledgement of guilt”.
“He has not been able to make sense of his own actions,” Ms Small told Justice McDermott.
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