Man who sexually assaulted daughter's friend jailed for two years
By Sonya McLean
A man who sexually assaulted his daughter’s 13-year-old friend after asking the child to come into his apartment has been jailed for two years.
The 36-year-old man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim, was convicted by a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court jury last November after he pleaded not guilty to a charge of sexual assault at his Dublin home on April 10th, 2021.
The court heard that while the man does not accept the child’s evidence before the jury, he is not going to appeal the conviction and accepts the verdict of the jury.
Judge Dara Hayes said it was clear that the man’s behaviour had “a considerable impact” on the teenager. He said it represented a “serious breach of trust”.
He said a headline sentence of four years was warranted before he reduced the sentence to three years and three months.
Judge Hayes said that taking into the positive probation report before the court, he would suspend the final 15 months of the term on strict conditions, including that he engage with the Probation Service for two years upon his release from custody.
He backdated the sentence to when the man first went into custody last November.
A local garda told Jane McGowan BL, prosecuting, that the victim’s mother came to the garda station on the day of the sexual assault to report it.
She said the child later told specialist gardaí in an interview that she called to the man’s house that afternoon to ask if his daughter wanted to come out and play football. The man called her into the apartment and commented that he had never seen her wear such tight-fitting clothing.
He then touched the girl on the buttocks for several seconds before he moved his hand to her hips and waist. He then touched her chest for a couple of seconds and held her chin intimately before asking her if she had a crush on him.
The man caressed her face and hooked a strand of her hair before her ear before he placed her hand between his hands and told her he had to leave to collect his wife.
The man claims that he spoke to the teenager about her clothing being inappropriate and may have touched her while doing that.
The court heard that the teenager later spoke to a friend about what happened before they told another adult they trusted and that adult ed the victim’s mother. Her mother immediately reported it to the gardaí.
The court heard that the man is a married man with two children. He has three minor road traffic convictions. He was ed as a sex offender and remanded in custody following his conviction last November.
Ms McGowan read a victim impact statement into the record, in which she said that the assault impacted the teenager’s school and social life.
She finds herself having feelings of “high paranoia in her daily life” and spoke of how her mother was “threatened and shamed” by the man’s wife in public.
She said a friend whom she had trusted told people what had happened to her, which she said “compounded the violation” and led to her feeling like her life was not under control. She spoke of feeling bullied and shamed.
She said she still has trust issues and found she is hypervigilant, has lost her innocence and developed a fear of intimacy.
“My life just completely flipped upside down. I lost myself and never found it again. All of these changes came about suddenly. I was not ready for these changes and I should not have had to experience these at such a young age,” the statement continued.
Damian Colgan SC, defending, said while his client accepts the jury’s verdict, he does not accept the evidence as “laid out” and said he is not going to appeal the conviction.
A report from the Probation Service concluded that the man is at a low risk of re-offending and is willing to work with the Probation Service.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help.
