Alec Goucher jailed for 17 years for rape of stepdaughter

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Alec Goucher, 70, was sentenced to 17 years in prison after a Central Criminal Court jury found him guilty of 25 counts relating to the sexual abuse of his stepdaughter, Elizabeth Usher, between 2000 and 2007. The offences included sexual assault, rape and rape under section 4 with an implement. Usher was about 11 when the abuse began. Goucher continues to deny the offences and does not accept the jury’s verdicts.

The judge said Goucher had shown no remorse or insight and had little mitigation in his favour. She backdated the sentence to when he first entered custody. The judge rejected a psychiatric report’s suggestion that he might be suitable for a non-custodial sentence.