13-year prison sentence upheld for man who raped and abused nieces

A Longford man convicted of sexually abusing four of his nieces has had his 13-year prison sentence upheld by the Court of Appeal. The 50-year-old man pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to seven charges, including three counts of anal rape and one sexual assault committed between 2001 and 2010. The offences involved victims aged between seven and 16 at the time. The Central Criminal Court imposed consecutive sentences totalling 13 years in May 2017. The Court of Appeal, comprising Mr Justice John Edwards, Mr Justice George Birmingham, and Mr Justice John Hedigan, found the sentences proportionate both individually and cumulatively. The court dismissed the man's appeal against sentence severity.