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Cavan man who raped his 16-year-old niece jailed for six and a half years

The woman said her uncle had “degraded and crushed” her instead of protecting her.

A CAVAN MAN who raped his 16-year-old niece has been jailed for six and a half years.

The Central Criminal Court heard how the victim’s mother did not go to gardaí when told of the abuse and her family “went mad” when they found out the girl herself eventually made a complaint.

The girl told the court how her “world had crumbled” when her parents separated and her uncle had pretended he was there to help before plying her with alcohol and sexually abusing her.

She said in her victim impact statement that her uncle had “degraded and crushed” her instead of protecting her.

The now 49-year-old man, who cannot be named to protect his victim’s identity, pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to rape, oral rape and sexual assault at locations in Co Cavan on dates in early 1997. He was 31 years old at the time of the offences.

Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy noted the man had been in a position of trust and that the victim had “suffered grievously” and gone through great personal difficulty.

“The offences were of an obnoxious nature, one uses these terms as Justice Carney said, until one meets something more serious and runs out of adjectives,” he said.

Mr Justice McCarthy noted the man’s guilty plea and the fact that he was at low risk of re-offending. He imposed a six and a half year sentence and ordered three years post release supervision.

Haunted by fact he was still ‘out there’ 

A local garda sergeant told Patrick McGrath SC, prosecuting, that the man twice forced the girl to perform oral sex on him in his car. He also got into bed beside the girl and touched her breasts outside her clothes on two occasions.

On a later occasion she was raped in a bedroom by her uncle who had got on top of her and forced her legs apart.

The girl told her mother what had happened. The mother did not consider reporting the incidents to to gardaí and thought it was better for her daughter to get on with her life. The girl also told a number of friends and her boyfriend before reporting the matter to gardaí in 2011.

Her uncle was arrested and initially substantially denied the allegations but made some comments that could be described as admissions, the garda said.

The woman said her family “went mad” when she made a statement to gardaí in 2011 as they did not want it to come out but she said she had been haunted by the fact he was still “out there” and could do it again. She said:

I want to be able to look at myself and say I did all I could.

Grainne McMorrow SC, defending, said the accused man was utterly ashamed of himself and she was instructed to formally apologise in open court for the “awfulness, horror and misery” he had inflicted on her. She said his niece had deserved better from him.

She said he had been dependent on alcohol for a prolonged period and had a very poor recall of events. She said he had addressed his issues with alcohol and was now in a different place.

She said his “appalling behaviour” had been within a very narrow time frame of two months with no recurrence in the years since. She said he had been assessed at low risk of re-offending.

Read: Bill Cosby accuser says she receives hate mail from ‘diehard fans and rape apologists’>

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    Mute Derek Larney
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    Feb 12th 2013, 7:30 PM

    The Carnival is like a photographers dream, the place is absolutely awash with colour. Rio always gets the plaudits but the carnivals in Salvador, Bahia and Florinapolis are just as big and colourful.

    The organisers of our St.Patrick’s Day parades would do well to take a look at it and take inspiration. Watching tacky floats with advertisements for butchers and book shops doesn’t hold a match to how they do a parade in Brazil. I’ve nothing against local businesses, I just want to see a good show.

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    Mute Muriel Gowing
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    Feb 12th 2013, 11:33 PM

    True, but it doesn’t rain in Brazil like it does here. Imagine all that South American finery soaked in cold rain. The colours wouldn’t look so bright on a grey Irish day or a dark misty Irish night. I think we do very well considering our climate.

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    Mute Matthew Fitzpatrick
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    Feb 12th 2013, 6:06 PM

    Dem’s wharri call wimmins

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    Mute Lily Signoret
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    Feb 12th 2013, 6:18 PM

    Looks like an amazing show!

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    Mute Dermot Fennelly
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    Feb 12th 2013, 7:12 PM

    And we raven about st Patrick !!!!

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    Mute JayK
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    Feb 12th 2013, 9:07 PM

    Never more.

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    Mute Green Burqa
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    Feb 12th 2013, 6:05 PM

    Cover up ladies, youll catch you death out there.

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