Courts / Ireland / Report
'I did not understand' - 55-year-old jailed for sexual assault of little girl over 40 years ago
Summary
A 55-year-old man who repeatedly sexually assaulted a four-year-old girl when he was aged between 12 and 13 pleaded guilty to three sample counts at the Central Criminal Court. The offending occurred at a house in Co. Offaly between September 1983 and October 1984, with 11 other sexual-assault charges taken into consideration. Justice Patrick McGrath set a 15-month sentence and suspended the final nine months, taking account of the defendant's youth at the time, guilty plea, remorse, health and low likelihood of reoffending.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: 'I did not understand' - 55-year-old jailed for sexual assault of little girl over 40 years ago. Charges or matters: three sample counts of sexual assault on dates between September 1983 and October 1984 at a house in Co. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- September 1983 Incident
- October 1984 Incident
- 2026-03-27 Publication
Case subjects
Convicted Person
Charges: three sample counts of sexual assault on dates between September 1983 and October 1984 at a house in Co (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: The now 55-year-old man was today jailed for six months after the sentencing judge took into account his "extremely young age" at the time of offending, which occurred when he was aged between 12 and 13 years. He said he had to take into account the defendant's extremely young age at the time, adding he did not think he had ever sentenced someone who had committed an offence when so young.; In her victim impact statement, the woman told the court that the sexual assaults left her "broken into many many pieces that nobody could put back together".
Places mentioned
- Central Criminal Court
Topics
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