Man jailed for raping and subjecting partner’s children to cruelty in Waterford
The abuse took place at addresses in Dublin and Waterford between 2018 and 2021
A factory worker who sexually and physically abused his partner's two children in Waterford, holding their heads under bathwater and locking one into a hot press, has been jailed for over 12 years.
The 37-year-old Dublin man was found guilty by a Central Criminal Court jury of 25 counts of abuse and child cruelty against the brother and sister following a trial in June.
In relation to the girl, he was found guilty of 11 counts of sexual assault, one count of anal rape and five counts of child cruelty.
He was also found guilty of two counts of orally raping the boy and six counts of child cruelty.
The abuse took place at addresses in Dublin and Waterford between 2018 and 2021 from when the girl was aged eight and the boy was nine years' old.
The man does not accept the jury verdict and continues to maintain his innocence, the court was told.
The court heard that while in a relationship with the children's mother, he physically abused them by holding their head under water in the bath until they were struggling to breathe and pouring cold shower water on their faces. He physically assaulted the boy, including hitting him with a bat.
On one occasion, he locked the boy in a hot press and left the house. The little boy's mother let him out when the man had left, but he climbed back into the press again when his abuser returned home.
The man also sexually assaulted the girl on a regular basis, causing her great pain. He anally raped her on one occasion and orally raped the boy twice.
The court heard that the complainants wished for the man to be named but to retain their own anonymity.
However, as they are still children and could be identifiable to some people if he is named, it is understood the man must remain anonymous as per the terms of the Children Act.
Sentencing him today, Ms Justice Karen O'Connor noted the complainants were “vulnerable children with their young lives made worse by the defendant”.
“They were too young to understand the gravity of what was occurring in respect of the sexual offending,” she said.
She noted the man both bribed and threatened the girl while abusing her – telling her he would buy her a dog and also telling her she would have to leave home and her mother would go to jail if she told anyone what he was doing to her.
The girl told gardaí in her specialist interview: “It made me feel really sad because I didn't want my mam to go to prison.”
“This is a shocking case in which two vulnerable children were exposed to sexual offending of a significant gravity and other offences in their young lives,” Ms Justice O'Connor said.
“The description of the cruelty in the bath and the cold water in the shower is something that is very concerning.”
She said that both children, who are now in care, are impressive young people with bright futures ahead of them. She commended them for their bravery in disclosing the abuse.
The judge handed down a number of concurrent sentences comprising a jail term of 12 years and three months. She said that given his lack of remorse and acknowledgement of his offending, she would not suspend any part of the sentence.
The man made no reaction when the sentence was handed down.
The court heard he had a good work history and some health issues, including diabetes. He now has a new partner and a baby.