Kildare resident who sexually abused his cousin more than 40 years ago is given a suspended sentence

A Kildare man who sexually abused his cousin more than 40 years ago when he came back to Ireland to visit relatives has been given a suspended sentence.

The 59-year-old man, who can't be named to protect the anonymity of his victim, was arrested by gardaí when he came home to visit Ireland after living abroad for decades.

In a ruling at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on Wednesday, Judge Martin Nolan sentenced the man to three years but suspended it in full, because of the man’s serious lung condition.

The man, with an address in Kildare but formerly from overseas, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to three counts of indecently assaulting his cousin at her home address in Dublin on dates between January 1979 and December 1982.

He was aged between 15 and 18 years' old at the time, while his cousin was aged between six and nine.

The court heard the man has had lung replacements which have a “shelf life” and currently has breathing difficulties, which are expected to disimprove.

He requires regular operations under general anaesthesia and has a reduced life span as a result.

“It would be utterly unfair to imprison him. He could not withstand exposure to prison,” said Judge Nolan, who set a headline sentence of four to five years.

The judge said the man has suffered public shame and that his reputation has been affected.

He said the offences were serious and had induced “considerable fear” in the injured party. He said the accused “should have had enough sense and judgement” not to offend.

Judge Nolan said the man had no criminal record, a long work history, and an “impressive” list of references and letters submitted on his behalf.

Garda James Campbell told the court that the victim in the case first reported the abuse to gardaí in 2023. The court heard that the abuse occurred on three occasions in her family home, twice on occasions when her extended family members were gathered together.

On each occasion, her cousin touched her inappropriately, inserting his fingers in her and causing her pain. On one occasion he abused her and attempted to penetrate her while she was lying in bed beside her younger sibling, the court heard.

The abuse left the woman terrified of her cousin and any mention of him and how well he was doing among family members had a triggering effect on her as she grew older, the court heard. A victim impact statement was handed into court, but the woman did not wish it to be read aloud. She did not attend the sentence hearing.

The court heard that the man is well-educated and has lived and worked abroad since he was young. When he came home to Ireland at one point to visit an elderly relative who was staying with the woman, she became upset and told him never to contact her or her children again.

She asked him if he realised the enormity of what he had done, to which he replied: “Yes I do”, the court heard. The woman then told him that if he set foot on Irish soil again, she would do something about it.

After the woman's parents passed away, she felt able to make a complaint to gardaí. When the man came home to Ireland in 2023, he was arrested by gardaí in Dublin Airport. He has remained in the country since then on strict bail conditions.

When questioned by gardaí, the man denied the allegations.

Michael O'Higgins SC, defending the man, handed in a medical report outlining his complex medical condition. He also handed in a letter of apology, in which the man said that reading his cousin's victim impact statement in the book of evidence had “pierced (his) heart”.

“It made me truly understand better the pain you carry,” he wrote. “I understand now your fear in my presence over the years.”

The man said he wanted to “unconditionally and humbly apologise for assaulting you and hurting you.” He paid tribute to her “resilience and bravery”.

Mr O'Higgins said the offences occurred when the man himself was a minor who was sexually stunted and who had received no sexual education. He said the man has been married since his twenties and his wife was his only sexual partner.

His family was “shocked to the core” when he made admissions to them about what he had done, the court heard. His adult children travelled to support their father.

The court heard the maximum sentence for the first two counts of indecent assault was two years, while the third count, which was dated after 1981, had a maximum sentence of 10 years.