Courts / Dublin / Report

Man accused of raping toddler with object admits to endangerment, child cruelty

Summary

A 30-year-old man accused of raping his partner's 23-month-old toddler with an object has pleaded guilty to charges of reckless endangerment and child cruelty, two weeks into his Central Criminal Court trial. The man, who cannot be named to protect the identities of the children, initially pleaded not guilty to ten charges, including Section 4 rape, sexual assault, and child cruelty to the toddler and her brother between February and April 2018. However, a plea deal was reached, and he admitted to one count of reckless endangerment of the toddler between March 29, 2013, and April 5, 2018, and two counts of child cruelty towards the toddler and two counts of child cruelty towards her brother on April 5, 2018. The matter is currently at the appeal stage. The man will be sentenced for the reckless endangerment charge and the child cruelty charges on October 9. The charges carry a maximum sentence of seven years. The trial heard that the family was under investigation by gardaí at the time of the alleged offences and had been referred to Tusla the previous November after the girl, then aged 18 months, was taken to hospital covered in bruises. The children were immediately taken into care following the hospitalisation. The man fled the jurisdiction shortly after the girl was hospitalised and has been in custody since his return. He gave one voluntary interview to gardaí in January 2018, when the initial investigation into the girl's November 2017 hospitalisation was underway. The man had also pleaded not guilty to other charges, including sexual assault and failing to seek medical help for an injury to the girl's wrist. The children's mother pleaded guilty last year to two counts of recklessly endangering her children and was given a five-year jail sentence, which she is appealing in the Court of Appeal.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Man accused of raping toddler with object admits to endangerment, child cruelty. Charges or matters: ten charges including Section 4 rape, sexual assault and reckless endangerment of the toddler, as well as child cruelty to her and her brother, on dates between February and April 2018; one count of reckless endangerment of the toddler by placing her at risk of substantial harm on dates between March 29, 2013 and April 5, 2018; two counts of child cruelty towards her and two counts of child cruelty towards her brother on April 5, 2018. Procedural stage: appeal

When:

• April 2018 Incident
• March 29, 2013 Hearing Or Sentence
• April 5, 2018 Hearing Or Sentence
• July 2022 Hearing Or Sentence
• January 2018 Hearing Or Sentence
• November 2017 Incident
• February 2018 Hearing Or Sentence
• October 9 Other
• 2023-07-04 Publication

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Appeal Violent Crime

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Read the original CNI report