Courts / Dublin / Report
Father has jail term cut for abusing daughter
Summary
The Court of Appeal reduced a 69‑year‑old man's eight‑year jail sentence for five counts of indecent assault on his daughter, who was aged nine to ten when the offences occurred between 1985 and 1986. The original nine‑year sentence, with the last 12 months suspended, was imposed by the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court after the man pleaded guilty to touching and penetrating his daughter's vagina and forcing her to touch his penis. The appeal argued that the sentencing judge had erred by not hearing mitigating factors such as the man's poor health, alcohol addiction, lack of prior convictions, low risk of re‑offending and his own childhood abuse. The Court of Appeal agreed that the sentence was "disproportionate to a limited extent" and reduced it to eight years, keeping the final 12 months suspended. The case remains at the appellate stage.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Father has jail term cut for abusing daughter. Procedural stage: appeal
When:
- November 2019 Incident
- April 1, 1985 Hearing Or Sentence
- December 31, 1986 Hearing Or Sentence
- April 2015 Hearing Or Sentence
- July 2019 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2020-09-14 Publication
Case subjects
Appellant
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: The Court of Appeal has reduced an eight-year jail sentence imposed on a 69-year-old man for five counts of indecent assault on his young daughter at their family home in Dublin 35 years ago by 12 months. The man was sentenced to nine-years in prison, with the final 12 months suspended, after pleading guilty to charges relating to incidents in the victim's bedroom where he touched his daughter's vagina, penetrated her vagina with his fingers and forced her to touch his penis.
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