Courts / Ireland / Report

Abuse survivor tells court she was raped '1,000 times' by foster father

Summary

A 56-year-old man pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to 14 charges of rape, two charges of oral rape, and one charge of sexual assault committed between February 2009 and December 2015. The defendant, who has no previous convictions, admitted to these sample charges regarding the abuse of his foster daughter, who was aged 11 to 18 at the time. Prosecuting counsel Anne Rowland SC stated that the Director of Public Prosecutions classified the case as falling into the "exceptional category" due to the victim's extreme vulnerability, the abuse of trust, and the frequency of offending. Consequently, the DPP suggested a headline sentence of between 15 years and life imprisonment. The victim, now 24, read a statement describing the long-term impact of the abuse, stating she was raped multiple times weekly. Defense counsel Ronan Munro SC noted the defendant's remorse and mental health concerns. Mr Justice Paul McDermott remanded the man in custody and adjourned the case for finalisation this coming Friday.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Abuse survivor tells court she was raped '1,000 times' by foster father. Charges or matters: 14 charges of rape, two charges of oral rape and one charge of sexual assault on dates between February 2009 and December 2015. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

• February 2009 Adjournment
• December 2015 Adjournment
• December 2019 Incident
• July 2019 Hearing Or Sentence
• 2022-05-09 Publication

Why: She described feeling "trapped, helpless and frightened" and said she was too scared to report the abuse because of what may happen her younger brother and sister, who were also living in the foster home. CNI source report

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Sentence Violent Crime

Read the original CNI report