Suspended sentence for man who pleaded guilty to defiling girl (15) when he was 16

A 20-year-old man from Limerick has received a fully suspended two-year sentence at the Central Criminal Court after pleading guilty to the defilement of a 15-year-old girl in Longford in June 2013. The offence occurred when the defendant was 16 years old. He initially pleaded not guilty to rape in October 2017, but changed his plea hours into his trial. Mr Justice Paul Butler noted that the defendant and complainant were "effectively peers" and that imprisonment would serve no purpose. The judge accepted the victim's impact statement as credible, in which she described the lasting psychological harm caused by the incident. The suspended sentence is conditional on the defendant attending probation sessions and group therapy to address the nature of his offence. He must also maintain no contact with the victim. The defendant, who has no previous convictions, is currently in full-time employment.