Courts / Wicklow / Report

Wedding photographer jailed for raping girl when he was teen

Summary

Tony Gummerson, aged 42, was sentenced to seven years in prison for sexually assaulting and raping his step‑niece when he was 17 and she was between seven and eight years old, between September 1997 and March 1998. A Central Criminal Court jury found him guilty of four counts of sexual assault, two counts of oral rape and one count of rape. Gummerson had previously been convicted of sexual assault and served a three‑year sentence in 2012. He was babysitting the child at the time and was ten years older, breaching a significant trust. The judge noted the abuse was pre‑meditated and occurred behind closed doors, often after waking the victim from sleep. Gummerson did not accept the verdict, showed no remorse or apology, and the judge imposed a nine‑year sentence with the final two years suspended on conditions. The sentence was back‑dated to his June 2022 custody entry.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Wedding photographer jailed for raping girl when he was teen. Procedural stage: sentence. Findings: Found guilty

When:

• September 1997 Incident
• March 1998 Incident
• June 2022 Other
• 2023-02-20 Publication

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Sentence Violent Crime

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Read the original CNI report