Note: Readers may find some details distressing.
A 16-YEAR-OLD BOY has pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting his half sister over a six month period.
The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared before the Central Criminal Court yesterday where he pleaded guilty to 13 counts of sexually abusing the girl between 1 February, 2014 and 13 August, 2014.
The court heard the boy was 14 years old when the abuse occurred in their family home in a midlands town.
Prosecution counsel, Tara Burns SC, told the court the boy committed a number of different acts on his younger sister, including raping her, anally penetrating her with his penis and making her give him oral sex.
The court heard the abuse stopped when the girl eventually confided in her parents, who confronted the boy.
Admissions of guilt
Ms Burns said the boy admitted what he had done to his mother and stepfather and the family then went immediately to the gardaí, where the boy repeated his admissions of guilt.
In an interview with child specialists, the girl said the abuse usually occurred in the middle of the night or early in the morning, when she and her brother were the only ones awake.
“She said her brother would ask her if she was having fun and she would say yes, because she didn’t want to hurt his feelings,” Ms Burns said.
The girl also said she felt like she was going to choke during oral intercourse.
In a victim impact statement read out in court, the girl said she knew now what her half brother did to her was wrong. She said she had trouble sleeping.
“I dream about what he did to me,” she said.
I’m still annoyed about what he did to me. He shouldn’t have done that to me. I’m his little sister.
The girl said she was also confused she couldn’t spend time alone with her brother anymore.
It upsets me we can’t do anything as one big family anymore.
‘Remarkable manner’
Defence barrister Mary Rose Gearty SC told the court the family had dealt with the abuse in a “remarkable manner”.
She said the boy’s mother and stepfather continued to support him, while also supporting their daughter and they hoped to be able to eventually rehabilitate themselves as a family.
The boy was continuing to receive counselling and had lived with another family member since the abuse came to light.
“He has experienced a high degree of remorse and shame,” Ms Gearty said.
The court heard the boy himself may have been sexually abused, with further evidence expected to be heard at a later date.
Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy adjourned the matter to July 18 for a further hearing.
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