Man who sexually assaulted younger cousins while a teenager jailed for two years

A man who sexually assaulted his younger cousins while he was a teenager has been jailed for two years.

The now 23-year-old, who can't be identified to protect his victims' anonymity, was convicted following a trial at the Central Criminal Court earlier this year.

He was found guilty of one count of oral rape of the first victim on a date between January 2016 and August 2017, when she was aged between eight and nine and he was 14 or 15.

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He was also convicted of the sexual assault of a second victim when she was between seven and eight on an unknown date between 2019 and 2021when he would have been approximately 18.

The victims are sisters and the man is their stepcousin. The abuse took place at a location in Co Longford. The court was previously told the man does not accept the verdicts of the jury.

Imposing sentence on Tuesday,Mr Justice Paul Burns noted the impact on the victims and that they are significantly younger than the defendant.

The judge said he would set a headline sentence for the rape of eight years for an adult, but reduced this to four years as the defendant was a teenager at the time.

Mr Justice Burns noted the mitigation includes the man's lack of relevant convictions, his personal circumstances and work history.

He imposed a sentence of three years on the rape count, with the final 12 months suspended on strict conditions including that the man place himself under the supervision of the Probation Services for three years post-release.

Mr Justice Burns also imposed a two-year sentence on the sexual assault count, with both sentences to run concurrently.

The judge noted the penalty had to reflect that the man was "also a child" at the time of his offending against the first victim and had "only just ceased his minority" when the sexual assault of the second victim occurred.

The court previously heard that the first victim told gardai she was playing hide-and-seek with the teenager and others. He found her while she was looking for a hiding place and brought her into her sister's room. She said he pulled down his trousers and told her to close her eyes and open her mouth.

The girl said no, but he pulled her head then orally raped her. She said it did not last longer than a few minutes and she felt scared and uncomfortable.

The incident ended when someone came upstairs and the teenager told the girl to brush her teeth.

A local garda told Seamus Clarke SC, prosecuting, that a witness gave evidence during the trial that the man told him the first victim gave him a "blowjob".

The now 16-year-old girl described the "profound effect" of the man's offending on her life. She said she suffers with night terrors and takes sleep and anti-anxiety medication.

She said she is afraid to walk alone in case she meets him. The girl said she finds it hard to be around men and that the defendant "took my trust in all boys".

She said the man's actions had "ruined" her life and noted the impact on her sister. She expressed the hope that she can move on with her life, adding that it will likely have a long-term impact on her.

The second victim told gardai she was either eight or nine when the boy came into her room at night-time and touched her private parts over her clothing, which made her feel uncomfortable.

In her victim impact statement, the second girl (now 12) said she had trusted the man, who had made her laugh. She said she was scared when she woke up to find him touching her.

She said she didn't want to tell anyone, but decided to do so after seeing her sister tell their mother what had happened to her. She said she was glad her mother called gardai to tell the man "not to do it again".

The man has a number of unrelated previous convictions, mostly for road traffic offences.

Defence counsel, Dara Foynes SC, told the court her client does not accept the verdicts of the jury and intends to appeal.

She outlined that his personal circumstances were difficult at the time of the offending.

The man has good family support, but this case has resulted in "deep divisions" within the family, counsel noted. His partner was present in court to support him.

A probation report and several testimonials were handed to the court. Ms Foynes asked the court to take into account her client was a teenager at the time, and would have been emotionally and psychologically immature.

She submitted to the court that the sexual assault was in lower range of offending and that there was an absence of aggravating factors such as violence or use of alcohol in relation to the rape count.

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