Courts / Tipperary / Report
Father who raped special needs daughter fails in bid to overturn 11-year sentence
Summary
The Court of Appeal has dismissed the second appeal by an unnamed 59-year-old Tipperary man against his 11-year prison sentence. The appellant was convicted by a Central Criminal Court jury of five sexual offences, including rape and sexual assault, committed against his special needs daughter between 2003 and 2011. He had initially pleaded not guilty to 32 counts, with the jury acquitting him on 27 counts after the judge directed not-guilty verdicts on 17. In February 2020, he was sentenced to 12 years, with the final year suspended, resulting in an effective 11-year term. Counsel for the appellant, Colman Coady SC, argued the sentence was excessive and unduly severe for the higher sentencing category. The State, represented by Fiona Murphy SC, contended the sentence was correct given the aggravating factors, including the offences occurring in the family home and coercive efforts to withdraw charges. Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy, delivering the judgment, noted the victim's acute intellectual disability and the betrayal of trust as significant aggravating factors. She affirmed that the sentencing judge's decision to impose a headline sentence on the outer scale was within her discretion and that the appellant had already received a generous deduction. The court rejected the argument that the sentence lacked features common to more serious cases, upholding the original disposal.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Father who raped special needs daughter fails in bid to overturn 11-year sentence. Charges or matters: five offences by a Central Criminal Court jury and sentenced in February 2020. Procedural stage: appeal. Findings: Convicted
When:
- February 2020 Incident
- January 2003 Other
- December 2004 Other
- January 2011 Other
- 2022-10-17 Publication
Why: Following her complaint to gardaí, the HSE instigated an investigation but the woman told a psychologist during this process that she had made up the allegations because she was cross with her father after he had taken her phone away. CNI source report
Case subjects
Appellant
Charges: five offences by a Central Criminal Court jury and sentenced in February 2020 (Proven)
Finding: Convicted
Outcome: Convicted; A Tipperary man sentenced to 11 years in prison for raping and sexually assaulting his special needs daughter in their family home has had his second appeal dismissed by the Court of Appeal. Today at the Court of Appeal, Colman Coady SC, for the appellant, said that his client had been sentenced in the higher category for the five offences, resulting in a 12-year sentence with the final year suspended.
Places mentioned
- Court of Appeal
- Central Criminal Court
Topics
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