Courts / Roscommon / Report
Father-of-three jailed for sexual relationship with 14-year-old girl has prison sentence cut on appeal
Summary
A 35-year-old man from Roscommon has had his prison sentence reduced on appeal following his conviction for sexual offences against a child. He had pleaded guilty at Roscommon Circuit Criminal Court to six counts of defilement of a child and one count of sexual assault occurring over five months in 2011. The original sentence of nine years, with the final three suspended, was imposed in June 2014. The Court of Appeal found an error in how the sentencing judge had structured the penalty and imposed a new net sentence of five years imprisonment, with the final twelve months suspended. Mr Justice John Edwards, delivering judgment, outlined how the offences began when the man, then in his early thirties, became friendly with the girl through family connections. The abuse escalated over time and only ended when the girl's mother discovered text messages and reported the matter to gardaí. The court accepted evidence of remorse and low reoffending risk.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Father-of-three jailed for sexual relationship with 14-year-old girl has prison sentence cut on appeal. Charges or matters: six counts of defilement of a child and one count of sexually assaulting the girl over a five month period in 2011. Procedural stage: appeal
When:
- June 5 2014 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2015-10-13 Publication
Case subjects
Appellant
Charges: six counts of defilement of a child and one count of sexually assaulting the girl over a five month period in 2011 (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: He was sentenced to nine years imprisonment with the final three suspended by Mr Justice Tony Hunt on June 5 2014. Counsel for the man, John Shortt SC, submitted to the Court of Appeal today that the sentencing judge erred in how he structured the sentence in that nine years with three suspended was imposed for the most minor of offences – the sexual assault.
Places mentioned
- Roscommon
- Roscommon Circuit Criminal Court
- Court of Appeal
Topics
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