By Brion Hoban
A man who raped his niece while she was staying with her grandparents has been jailed for four-and-a-half years.
The 70-year-old man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim, pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court of raping his niece at a location in Co Carlow on an unknown date in 1978.
Following a two week trial in January 2020, he was convicted by a jury on the sole count and was remanded in custody. He has no previous convictions.
Passing sentence today, Mr Justice Paul Coffey said the offence was aggravated by the victim being a child at the time, that she had been raped in her grandparents' house where she was entitled to feel safe and the breach of familial trust by her uncle.
Mr Justice Coffey said that 42 years have elapsed since the offence and the man has since led an unblemished life. He said the risk of re-offending was now negligible and noted that the man's health conditions made him a poor candidate for prison.
He sentenced the man to four-and-a-half years imprisonment.
At a previous sentencing hearing, a local garda told Dylan Redmond BL, prosecuting, that the victim was staying with her grandparents at a house in Co Carlow in 1978.
The garda said that one night the man went into her bedroom, got on top of her and raped her while she closed her eyes and “played dead”.
He said that there was no suggestion of violence during the offence. He said that the man gave evidence during the trial, during which he put forward various motivations as to why the woman might fabricate the claim against him.
In her victim impact statement, which she read before the court, the woman said that this “is a sad story, but it is a true story”.
The woman, who was aged 16 at the time of the offence, said that one night while her grandparents were “tucked up in bed”, at the bottom of the stairs leading up to her bedroom there was “a wolf disguised as an uncle”.
She said he came up the stairs and “gobbled me up until there was nothing left”. She said he then went back downstairs and claimed that nothing happened.
The woman said she managed to keep the events “at a distance” until 10 years ago and that she has rarely had a full night's sleep since. She said the impact on her family was worse and she watched as her mother “crumbled into dust” when told what her brother had done.
She said that while this was a sad story, it was hopefully a story with a happy ending. She said that “the little girl escaped from the wolf and survived” and will hopefully go on to live happily ever after.
Kenneth Fogarty SC, defending, said that his client continues to maintain he is innocent of the offence. He said his client was married prior to the offence and claims he has never been unfaithful to his wife, who is now deceased.
Mr Fogarty said ear surgery has resulted in a loss of hearing for his client and submitted that as a result he will find it difficult to deal with the “precision lifestyle” expected of inmates.
