Courts / Limerick / Report

Convicted Paedophile gets 3.5 years for sex assault of baby

Date
2015-06-29
Stage
Sentence
Primary locality
Limerick
County
Limerick

Summary

Michael O'Brien, 46, was sentenced to three and a half years' imprisonment for sexually assaulting a one‑year‑old baby while the child's parents were out drinking. The court found the baby was left in O'Brien's care in a house lacking clean clothes, electricity and food, with food stored only in a freezer for social worker inspections. O'Brien had previously served a twelve‑year sentence in 2008 for abusing two children under six and a four‑year term in 1993 for assaulting a 60‑year‑old woman during a burglary. Judge Sarah Berkeley described the assault as "a vile and monstrous act" and, after suspending 18 months of a five‑year term, ordered O'Brien to continue treatment in prison and cooperate with probation services. He pleaded not guilty at the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court and was convicted by a jury earlier this year.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Convicted Paedophile gets 3.5 years for sex assault of baby. Charges or matters: sexually assaulting the baby at her home in the west of Ireland between April 2005 and October 2006. Procedural stage: sentence. Findings: Convicted

When:

Case subjects

Michael O'Brien

Convicted Person

Charges: sexually assaulting the baby at her home in the west of Ireland between April 2005 and October 2006 (Proven)

Plea: Not guilty

Finding: Convicted

Outcome: Convicted; Last month O'Brien was released from a twelve year sentence imposed in 2008 for the sexual abuse of two children who were under the age of six. In 1993 he was jailed for four years for the aggravated sexual assault of a 60 year old woman during a burglary of her home.

Places mentioned

Secondary Mention
Court Venue
  • Dublin
  • Dublin Circuit Criminal Court

Topics

Burglary Stage Sentence Violent Crime

Related court reports

Read the original CNI report

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