Dublin man jailed for sexually abusing daughter

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

A Dublin man was sentenced to nine years in prison at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on 11 November 2019, with the final year suspended. Judge Elma Sheahan made the suspension conditional on him engaging in all sexual abuse courses available to him in custody.

He pleaded guilty in July 2019 to five counts of indecently assaulting his daughter at their Dublin family home between 1 April 1985 and 31 December 1986, when she was aged nine to 10.

The court heard that, after entering his pleas, he denied the abuse to the Probation Service. On 11 November, he appeared unrepresented after dismissing his legal team and confirmed he did not want to change his guilty pleas. He told the court: “I’m guilty.”

Judge Sheahan described the offending as a serious breach of trust between a father and daughter. She said his temporary withdrawal from his plea had added further insult to the trauma caused.