Court hears Donegal man abused step-granddaughter while crossdressing

Content warning: This article contains details of child sexual abuse which some readers may find distressing.

A brave Donegal woman who was subjected to a series of vile incidents by her crossdressing step-grandfather has told how she remains in “constant fear”.

Letterkenny Circuit Court heard how the man, who is married to the woman’s grandmother, forced her to watch as he performed sexual acts on himself while dressed in woman’s clothing. 

The girl, who was between nine and 10 years old when the incidents occurred, was warned that she had to keep the “secret” or some of her family members could be killed. The man gave her money and presents as a reward for staying silent and told her she could go to jail if she told anyone.

However, the girl confided in her mother and the matter was reported to An Garda Síochána with the man now facing sentencing in early 2026.

The man, who is now in his 60s, was charged with a total of 16 offences, two of sexual exploitation and 14 of sexual assault, and pleaded guilty to three sample charges - two of sexual assault and one of child exploitation - which were acceptable to the DPP on a full facts basis. The man’s identity cannot be reported in order to protect the anonymity of the victim in the case.

He pleaded guilty to two charges that he sexually assaulted the woman by masturbating in front of her while crossdressing while at the same time touching or rubbing his body. The charges are contrary to section 2 of the Criminal Law (Rape) (Amendment) Act 1990 as amended by section 37 of the Sexual Offenders Act.

He also entered a guilty plea to a charge of the sexual exploitation of a child. This charge is contrary to section 3 (2) (b) of the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act, 1998 as amended by section 6 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Act 2007 and as substituted by section 3 (2) of the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008.

The man, who was accompanied by a woman to court, spoke only to plead guilty before Judge John Aylmer.

Garda Liam McBride outlined the details of the case to state prosecutor Ms Fiona Crawford BL.

The girl initially conveyed details of the incidents to her mother when telling her in a message: “Mammy, I don’t know how to tell you…I don’t know why I didn’t tell you sooner.” In the same message, she outlined some of the incidents she was subjected to.

The young girl was subsequently interviewed by specialist Garda investigators. 

She said the man told her that he “liked to wear girls’ clothes” and informed Gardai of a number of incidents, which occurred when she would come home from school. The incidents would happen sometimes in the girl’s own home and other times in the man’s house. Both locations are in County Donegal. 

The man would bring over some items of the grandmother’s clothes, including skirts, stockings, high heels and underwear, while he also put on the young girl’s clothing.

“He obviously liked it,” the girl told Gardai.

She outlined how the man would lift her top and put his hand inside her clothing while performing sexual act on himself. 

The girl told how the incident would make her feel “uncomfortable”. She said he would change into different clothing, which she described as “anything he could get his hands on that wasn’t for men”.

A complaint was made to Gardai in 2020 and the man was arrested by arrangement for the purpose of interview in February 2021.

Last year, the man, who has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault, while this week he entered guilty pleas to further charges of sexual assault and sexual exploitation of a child.

In a moving victim impact statement, which was read to the court by Garda McBride, the complainant, who was present in court, said she is a victim of child grooming. 

“I am still discovering all the ways that grooming hurts me,” he said. “It destroyed my childhood, my teenage years and my early adulthood.

“I thought it was okay as I thought he was family and I could trust him.”

She recalled how her clothes would “not fit him in the slightest” when he would ask her how he looked. She told of her horror at having to watch the man perform sexual acts and have to look out the window “in case someone pulled into the driveway”.

She told how the man warned her that if anyone ever found out the “secret” she would get the blame and be jailed. The man told her that other members of her family would be killed.

The man gave the young girl “hush money” and presents and made her delete messages from her phone.

“It has left my head completely messed up,” she said. “I have severe anxiety and I can’t go anywhere by myself. I don’t know what I would do if I was ever face-to-face with him again.”

The woman suffers from “severe flashbacks” and was unable to concentrate in school while she was “in and out of depressing thinking it was my fault”.

She added: “I didn’t get to live my childhood. I had to mature too early and act as if everything was okay.”

She said she “hates that man so much for how he messed with my head” and she lives in “constant fear” that she will bump into the man.

“My head never stops thinking about it,” she said. “There are nights when I can’t sleep at all. I sit up all night replaying the memories. I am so scared that I will have to relive that again - or something worse.” 

The man was represented by Mr Eugene Grant SC, with Ms Maddie Grant BL, instructed by solicitor Mr Conor Moylan.

Mr Grant told the court that his client’s marriage ran into difficulties “almost from inception” where he disclosed to his wife that he had a predilection to crossdressing. He said the man left the marital home when these matters came to light, but has since been accepted back.

The court heard that the man lost employment following the emergence of the charges.

Mr Grant said the defendant “presents with a clear record, is of good character, has no previous convictions and from a perspective of everything but these matters, he has an exemplary background”.

Mr Grant said there was an initial resilement from the substantive elements, but there was a “clear acceptance” from the outset of the crossdressing activity.

The defendant now “embraces his plea” of guilt, the barrister said. “There is no concern about withdrawing any acceptance,” Mr Grant said. In an interaction with the Probation Service, the man said his behaviour was “wrong, harmful, deeply inappropriate” and he was described as having “self-loathing, suicidal ideation and internal shame”.

While there was no question mark of the man accepting the crossdressing activity, there were when it came to “specific elements of the assault”, the court was told. While Mr Grant said that there was no doubt that certain conclusions of the Probation Service were “coloured by a lack of insight at the time”, he said that matters have “developed substantially”.

Judge Aylmer suggested that a fresh probation report could be sought.

Sentencing was adjourned until the February sitting of Letterkenny Circuit Court when the matter will be finalised.