Offaly man in his sixties who was 'grandfather figure' jailed for rape of 11-year-old boy

A young man who was raped as an 11-year-old boy has told his abuser that he will not carry the guilt anymore – that he is “reclaiming my voice, my story and my life”.

Devin O’Donnell (19) was reading from his victim impact statement at the Central Criminal Court sentence hearing of Joseph Campbell (63) of Castle Court, Daingean, Co Offaly.

Campbell, who is the father of Mr O’Donnell’s step-mother, was jailed for eight and a half years today. Campbell maintains his innocence and does not accept the verdict of the jury.

Fionnuala O’Sullivan SC, prosecuting, told the court that Mr O’Donnell wishes to waive his right to anonymity so Campbell can be named in reporting the case.

Mr O’Donnell said in his victim impact statement, “You didn’t just hurt me in that moment, you changed how I experienced the world. You planted silence inside me.

“And for a long time, I felt that silence keep my quiet, because the shame felt louder than my voice. But I’m not that scared little child anymore.

“I’m speaking now, not because I’m over it but because I am choosing to fight for myself, even when it is hard.

“What you did stole parts of my life that I will never get back. But you didn’t take everything. You didn’t take my strength. You didn’t take my future. You didn’t take my ability to heal.

“I am still here. And I’m slowly learning that I was never the one who should have felt ashamed, you were,” Mr O’Donnell continued.

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Campbell was convicted following a trial last June on what is termed as Section 4 rape – anal rape – at Mr O’Donnell’s home in October 2017. He had denied the charges. Further charges of sexual assault perpetrated by Campbell on the victim in December 2021 were taken into account.

Following his victim impact statement during an earlier sentence hearing last July, Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring said to the teenager that her advice would be that it is never too late to return to education.

“I know you didn’t finish your Leaving Certificate. It is never too late to go back. You are intelligent. I hope you find a path and if that means more education or training, you won’t be afraid to do it,” Ms Justice Ring said.

She previously adjourned the sentence hearing to allow for the preparation of a report from the Probation Services.

Sentencing Campbell today she noted Mr O’Donnell’s “resilience” and said he had faced many challenges throughout his life.

“He was preyed upon by a person whom he should have trusted – no child should have to have these experiences,” she said.

Speaking about Mr O’Donnell, she said it was clear that he is “loved by many”.

“While this abuse has marked him, it should not define him. He is so much more than what Joseph Campbell did to him,” Ms Justice Ring said before

She added that she hopes “new normal and happy life events will outweigh this experience” before she wished Mr O’Donnell all the best for the future.

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Ms Justice Ring said the aggravating features included the fact that Campbell was “a grandfather figure in the family structure” and “breached the trust that such a role brings”.

She further noted that he does not accept the verdict and has shown no insight or victim empathy.

“He threatened an 11-year-old whose mother had just died – the psychological and emotional abuse that causes extends the physical harm,” Ms Justice Ring said.

She accepted in mitigation that Campbell has no previous convictions.

Ms Justice Ring set a headline sentence of 11 years before reducing the sentence to 10 years. She suspended the final 18 months of that term after acknowledging that Campbell’s “re-entry into society” would be difficult.

Campbell was further ordered that neither he, nor anyone on his behalf, should have contact with Mr O’Donnell either directly or indirectly, while he is in prison and for a further five years after his release.

Concurrent terms of six years were imposed for the sexual assault offences and Campbell was also ordered to engage with the Probation Service for 12 months upon his release from prison.

Detective Garda Suzanne Neary told Ms O’Sullivan that Mr O’Donnell first made a complaint to gardaí in 2023, recording two interviews with specialist gardaí in March and October that year. He was 17-years-old at that time.

Campbell is the father of Mr O'Donnell's step-mother and he had gone to live with his own father and step-mother when his mother died when he was eight years old.

He was playing the Playstation upstairs in his home when Campbell called him downstairs to the sitting room. He asked the boy if he was gay and when Mr O’Donnell replied that it was none of his business, Campbell sexually assaulted him by touching his “private parts over his clothes”.

He pushed Campbell away and ran off crying. He told his friend over messages what had happened but immediately deleted it.

Campbell called the boy back downstairs, apologised and tried to give him €10. The boy ran from the house in what he described as “pouring rain” to his friend’s home. He contacted his aunt and she arranged to meet him at a nearby train station.

Mr O’Donnell’s aunt brought him to a garda station to make a complaint against Campbell. He stayed with her for a week but was forced to return to his father and step-mother. He ran away from home to live with his maternal grandmother and has lived there since.

Mr O’Donnell was interviewed by specialist garda in March and in October 2023, during a second interview he disclosed that the abuse he previously disclosed was not the first time he had been abused by Campbell.

He said when he was 11 years old he was anally raped by the man who was sleeping in “a spare bed” in the boy’s bedroom. Campbell had orally raped the boy before he turned him over and raped him.

He was told by Campbell that if he told anyone what had happened, he would be put into care.

Mr O’Donnell told gardaí: “I had the fear of God in me – so I stayed quiet.”

Campbell was arrested and interviewed. He denied the allegation and said he had never been in the bedroom with the child.

John Hayden SC, defending, submitted that his client had not issued any threats or used intimidation.

Ms Justice Ring interjected and suggested that counsel might reconsider as to whether “a threat to take a child into care” could be considered intimidating.

Mr Hayden told the court today that a number of testimonials had been handed up on his client’s behalf. He said Campbell had been diagnosed as having a mild learning disability and has significant mental health difficulties, including episodes of depression.

Mr Hayden said that a testimonial from a woman in Campbell’s local community said she had known the man 30 years and had daily contact with both him and his family. She described him as someone who has always been respectful, kind and caring and said that he was “a great support” to her son in recent times.

A testimonial from Campbell’s ex-wife, who is the mother of his three children, said Campbell had brought her two older children from a previous relationship, up as his own. She said he loved and cherished all five children and continues to do so. She said she is fearful of his ability to cope in custody and is concerned his mental health will deteriorate.

Campbell’s stepdaughter said he was the best father someone could ask for and said he was “the kindest man she has ever known”. She said he is a fabulous grandfather to all his grandchildren and they love and adore him.

Mr Hayden said his client had no previous convictions, has never come to garda attention and a probation report put him at a low risk of sexual offending.

This is the Victim Impact Statement in full read to the court by Devin O’Donnell

What happened to me as a child has never left me. It wasn’t just something that happened in a moment and ended, it was something that planted itself deep inside me, and grew into fear, shame, confusion, and heartbreak that I have carried ever since.

I was just a child. I didn’t understand what was happening. I just remember feeling small, scared and like something inside me was being stolen. You took away a part of me I never got back. My safety. My innocence. My ability to feel okay in my own skin.

Growing up, I felt different from everyone else but not in a good way. I smiled, laughed and pretended everything was normal but inside I was hurting. I felt dirty. I felt broken. I thought something was wrong with me. And worst of all, I thought maybe it was my fault. That maybe I had done something to deserve it. No child should ever have to think that.

I lost trust in people before I even had the chance to build it. I lost trust in myself. And that followed me in everything, into my friendships, into how I saw myself, and especially into my relationships. Love became something I feared. Intimacy made me feel unsafe. I would flinch at kindness because I didn’t know it was real. I still find myself waiting for people to hurt me.

You didn’t just hurt me in that moment, you changed how I experienced the world. You planted silence inside me. And for a long time, I felt that silence keep my quiet, because the shame felt lounder than my voice. But I’m not that scared little child anymore.

What I carry myself here today with is more than any young person should carry. Myself I’m here telling my story. A story that should never even need to be told in the first place. A story that put me through hell and back just for someone to listen out to my calls for help.

No child should ever have to feel the way I felt that night, those days after and even up to today, as I stand in front of a judge finally getting my ever-craving peace I so desperately sought out to find. I won’t stand here today and tell you I’m a healed person, that my past has been buried and forgotten about when it hasn’t, to his day whether it’s watching TV or with my own partner together, I still feel the shame, the pain the never-ending hopelessness feeling that comes with it. But what I can say to you is I have gotten better at masking it, because when you’re a child in a situation like my own you learn to mask every struggle until you find your way through. Unfortunately, I am still on that journey.

I’m speaking now, not because I’m over it but because I am choosing to fight for myself, even when it is hard.

What you did stole parts of my life that I will never get back. But you didn’t take everything. You didn’t take my strength. You didn’t take my future. You didn’t take my ability to heal. I am still here. And I’m slowly learning that I was never the one who should have felt ashamed, you were.

I’ll carry the scars, but I will not carry your guilt anymore. This is my reclaiming my voice, my story and my life.

And lastly, as I stand in front of you today, I would like to thank the people who have made me the person I am today and has been by my side through it all.

I want to thank my Nanny Julie for going through all the hardship with me but still stood with me.

I want to thank my Auntie Ann Marie who from the second she got that call was there by my side through it all.

I also want to thank my best mate who didn’t need to take my side and be a part of this but he did out of the goodness of his heart which means more than anything to me.

I’d like to thank Detective Suzanne Neary, Roisin Kelly, my legal team and to the judge and jury who sat through my case and listened to everything.

And for my final thank you I’d like to thank my boyfriend, Colin. He has gotten me through more than he knows and I wouldn’t have the confidence, my spark and my hope without him.