Courts / Wicklow / Report

Judge says value of Stay Safe programme cannot be overstated

Summary

In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court case, a 31‑year‑old Wicklow man was sentenced to one year in prison for sexually abusing two of his daughter's friends while they were playing in his house. The offences were discovered after a girl filed a complaint following a Stay Safe class at her school. The man pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual abuse that occurred sometime in 2010. Judge Mary Ellen Ring imposed a two‑and‑a‑half‑year term but suspended the final 18 months, requiring the defendant to remain under Probation Services supervision for 18 months after release. The judge highlighted the importance of the Stay Safe programme, noting it had previously enabled children to report abuse. The girls, aged seven and nine at the time, were playing with the defendant's daughter in his bedroom when the abuse began. The defendant admitted playing with them but claimed it was innocent.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Judge says value of Stay Safe programme cannot be overstated. Charges or matters: two counts of sexual abuse on a unspecified date sometime in 2010. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

• June 15, 2012 Incident
• 2014-11-10 Publication

Case subjects

Places mentioned

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Stage Sentence

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Read the original CNI report