Courts / Dublin / Report

Elderly man jailed for indecent assault of niece

Date
2017-02-15

Stage
Sentence

Primary locality
Dublin

County
Dublin

Summary

An elderly Dublin man, aged 64, was sentenced to 16 months' imprisonment for indecent assault on his nine‑year‑old niece on 26 December 1980. The jury convicted him of one count of indecent assault. The victim, who was asleep with three young cousins, awoke to the man kneeling on her, rubbing her genitals. She screamed, but he continued, then left the room, returned with his trousers around his hips, masturbating while looking at the girls. One cousin covered the youngest girl's eyes to hide the man. The victim only disclosed the assault to her mother at 18 and filed a complaint in 2014. The accused denied the charge and claimed good behaviour since 1980. The judge noted the victim's statement that the assault caused irreversible damage, mental torture, and loss of trust, and that it had taken away her childhood and innocence. The maximum sentence at the time was two years, but the current maximum is 14 years.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Elderly man jailed for indecent assault of niece. Procedural stage: sentence. Findings: Convicted

When:

26 December 1980 Incident
October 2014 Incident
2017-02-15 Publication

Why: The victim said the assault had affected her ability to trust men throughout her life, and that her children had not had the freedom that she enjoyed as a child because she did not trust people, the judge also noted. CNI source report