Courts / Sligo / Report
Man jailed for life for raping four daughters fails in appeal
Summary
The Court of Criminal Appeal has dismissed an appeal against a life sentence imposed on a man convicted of raping four of his daughters over an 18-year period. The three-judge court ruled that the sentencing judge was entitled to impose the maximum penalty. The man, now aged 52, pleaded guilty in December 2011 at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Castlebar, County Mayo, to sample counts of rape and child cruelty spanning from 1991 to 2009. The appellant's counsel argued that the trial judge erred in principle by prioritising victim reassurance in sentencing, and that mitigating factors including a late guilty plea and the man's dysfunctional background and alcohol abuse should have been weighted more heavily. The court rejected these submissions, finding that credible threats made by the man to one victim were an exceptional circumstance the sentencing judge was entitled to consider. The court determined that no mitigating factors could outweigh the horrific and exceptional nature of the offences.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Man jailed for life for raping four daughters fails in appeal. Procedural stage: appeal
When:
- December 2011 Hearing Or Sentence
- January 1991 Hearing Or Sentence
- December 2009 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2014-03-18 Publication
Why: In December 2011 the man, who cannot be named in order to protect the identity of the victims, was jailed for life by Mr Justice Carney at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Castlebar, Co Mayo. CNI source report
Case subjects
Appellant
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: The Court of Criminal Appeal has upheld the life sentence imposed on a man who raped four of his daughters over an 18-year period. In December 2011 the man, who cannot be named in order to protect the identity of the victims, was jailed for life by Mr Justice Carney at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Castlebar, Co Mayo.
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