Man who sexually abused cousin (8) in Kildare fails in bid for reduced sentence
Judge Martin Nolan sentenced the man to three years with the final two years suspended on strict conditions at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on March 26, 2025
A 41-year-old man who sexually abused his eight-year-old cousin while babysitting her in Kildare almost 25 years ago has failed to have his one-year jail term reduced on appeal.
The man, who cannot be named to protect the victim's anonymity, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault at an address in Co Kildare during the summer of 1999. Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that the maximum sentence at that time for sexual assault was five years.
An investigating garda outlined that the man was 15 at the time of his offending, while the injured party was then eight.
Four incidents of sexual assault took place in her family home where he was staying for the summer.
The teenager was the eldest of the children and viewed as an adult by the victim, who did what he said.
In her victim impact statement, the woman said the abuse “changed the trajectory of my life” and that she had lived with shame and guilt, while he participated actively in family events.
She said the man was “celebrated” by others who were aware of the abuse.
“You are not the only one who should hang their head in shame”, she said, describing how another person told her she was “mistaken”, that the defendant was checking on her after she'd had a bad dream and he wouldn't do something like that.
Judge Martin Nolan sentenced the man to three years with the final two years suspended on strict conditions at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on March 26, 2025.
In dismissing the man’s appeal at the Court of Appeal on Tuesday, Mr Justice John Edwards said he was satisfied that the ultimate sentence imposed was proportionate, the sentencing judge “generously discounted” for the mitigating factors in the case and the appropriate sentencing principles were applied in the assessment of gravity.
He said the judge was “fully alive” to the fact that the offending happened 25 years previously and the court was not persuaded that the judge failed to follow the correct principles when sentencing an adult for offences committed as a child.
Mr Justice Edwards noted the aggravating factors in the case, including the repeated nature of the offending, the breach of trust involved as the appellant was entrusted with babysitting at the time, and the age difference between the parties.
The harm was further compounded by the “secondary traumatisation” of the victim, the judge said, caused by the man's denial when confronted at a family meeting, his blaming of the victim, and his continued refusal to acknowledge or take full responsibility for his actions as he got older. While he apologised to the victim, he never sought to set the record straight with the wider family.
The man made only partial admissions when interviewed by gardaí in 2023 and sought to “minimise” what he had done, Mr Justice Edwards said.
He said the court was satisfied that the sentencing judge gave appropriate consideration to the man’s plea of guilty, his lack of previous offending, good work record and his family responsibilities. The judge said appropriate allowances were also made for his youth and immaturity at the time the offending occurred.