'I lost my childhood', victim abused by adopted father tells court

A 57-year-old man from County Donegal has been convicted of sexually assaulting a boy in his care between 2003 and 2004. The defendant, whose identity is protected to safeguard the victim, faced trial at the Central Criminal Court on seven counts of oral rape, to which he pleaded not guilty. A jury acquitted him of these charges but convicted him of the alternative lesser offence of sexual assault involving molestation of the child's genitals when the victim was aged between 13 and 15 years. Ms Justice Carmel Stewart imposed a two-year sentence, suspending the final six months on strict conditions. The victim, now in his twenties, delivered an impact statement describing how the abuse had destroyed his childhood and caused ongoing trauma. During sentencing, the court noted the defendant had offered to plead guilty to sexual assault prior to trial, an offer rejected by the Director of Public Prosecutions.