Courts / Ireland / Report

Uncle who groomed and repeatedly raped niece gets 8-year jail sentence

Summary

A man was sentenced to eight years in prison for repeatedly raping his niece between 1 November 2018 and 15 January 2019. He pleaded guilty to counts of rape, oral rape, sexual assault and sexual exploitation of a child. The judge, Mr Justice Michael White, described the case as a "huge tragedy" and noted the aggravating factors of grooming, exploitation and breach of trust. He imposed a ten‑year term for each count of rape and oral rape, to run concurrently, and considered the sexual assault and exploitation counts. Two years of the sentence were suspended on the condition that the defendant engage with the Probation Service and therapeutic services. The victim, an eight‑year‑old, was the niece of the accused and the abuse largely occurred in the accused's home while he and his wife cared for her and her siblings. The defendant had no prior convictions and expressed remorse, apologising unreservedly in court.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Uncle who groomed and repeatedly raped niece gets 8-year jail sentence. Charges or matters: counts of rape, oral rape, sexual assault and sexual exploitation of a child on dates between November 1, 2018 and January 15, 2019. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

• November 1, 2018 Incident
• January 15, 2019 Incident
• January 18 Incident
• 2019-10-14 Publication

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Sexual Offences Stage Sentence Violent Crime

Read the original CNI report