Father loses Supreme Court appeal over daughter’s abuse

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

A father lost a Supreme Court appeal against his conviction for the abuse of his nine-year-old daughter, who was left with a catastrophic brain injury. The proceedings were reported on 24 July 2024.

A jury convicted the father and mother in 2021 of two counts of assault causing serious harm and three counts of child cruelty. The offences took place at the family home in Dublin between 28 June and 2 July 2019. Judge Martin Nolan sentenced each parent to 14 years in prison at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. The sentencing was reported on 7 March 2022.

The father appealed his conviction and sentence. The Court of Appeal upheld the conviction but reduced his sentence to 13 years. His further appeal to the Supreme Court concerned his responsibility for his wife’s infliction of the brain injury and the evidence supporting that count and a count relating to burning the child.

The trial heard that the father had participated in injuring and choking the girl, but there was no evidence he was present when her mother inflicted the brain injury on 2 July 2019: he had been at work from early that morning. In the Court of Appeal, it was argued that his absence and the delay in telling him about the incident meant he could not have altered the outcome by calling an ambulance. The court rejected the argument that his actions did not amount to joint enterprise.

Giving the Supreme Court’s decision, Mr Justice Peter Charleton said the essential issue was whether the father could be responsible because he participated in a series of assaults immediately beforehand under a plan common to both parents. The court answered that question affirmatively, found no reason to disturb the jury’s verdict and dismissed the appeal.