Father-of-three jailed for sexual relationship with 14-year-old girl has prison sentence cut on appeal

A 35-year-old man from Roscommon has had his prison sentence reduced on appeal following his conviction for sexual offences against a child. He had pleaded guilty at Roscommon Circuit Criminal Court to six counts of defilement of a child and one count of sexual assault occurring over five months in 2011. The original sentence of nine years, with the final three suspended, was imposed in June 2014. The Court of Appeal found an error in how the sentencing judge had structured the penalty and imposed a new net sentence of five years imprisonment, with the final twelve months suspended. Mr Justice John Edwards, delivering judgment, outlined how the offences began when the man, then in his early thirties, became friendly with the girl through family connections. The abuse escalated over time and only ended when the girl's mother discovered text messages and reported the matter to gardaí. The court accepted evidence of remorse and low reoffending risk.