10-year sentence for repeated abuse is upheld

The Court of Appeal has upheld a ten-year custodial sentence imposed on a man convicted of repeatedly sexually abusing his young cousin in County Donegal during the 1980s. The appellant, aged 53, had been found guilty on all twenty-four counts of indecent assault following trial in July 2019. He received consecutive sentences of four years for offences committed while a minor and six years for subsequent assaults. His legal representatives argued that the sentencing judge should have afforded greater weight to rehabilitation and that consecutive sentences were unwarranted. Mr Justice George Birmingham, presiding, determined that the original offending was of exceptional seriousness and that consecutive sentences were entirely appropriate. The court rejected submissions regarding redemption and the appellant's age during some offences. The victim, who waived anonymity, described enduring psychological harm and family division following disclosure. The Court of Appeal found no unfairness in the trial and confirmed the safety of the conviction.