The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal against a five-year sentence imposed on a man who pleaded guilty to two counts of indecently assaulting his daughter when she was 14 to 15 years old.
The assaults took place on unknown dates between August 1983 and August 1985. The sentence, imposed on 4 December 2014, included suspension of the final two years on the usual terms. At the time of the appeal judgment, the appellant had less than four months left to serve.
The court heard that one assault involved digital penetration and the other oral sex. The judgment said the assaults occurred after the daughter had gone to bed, in the context of a hostile and oppressive home life. In her victim impact report, she described regular humiliation and beatings by her father, and said she lived in fear before leaving for England at 18. The judgment said she had since made considerable progress, was married with a family, and worked as a school administrator.
The appellant’s barrister argued that the sentence was unduly severe and that the sentencing judge had not given enough weight to his age, health and the time elapsed since the offences. The appellant was 75 and had terminal cancer. A medical report before the sentencing judge said he had a few short years to live. The court also noted his guilty plea, cooperation with the Garda investigation, voluntary counselling, lack of previous convictions and the Probation Service’s view that he was unlikely to reoffend. It noted that he had himself experienced sexual and physical abuse as a child.
The Director of Public Prosecutions, opposing the appeal, submitted that the sentence was not unduly severe given the aggravating factors. Counsel said there had been no suggestion that prison authorities could not address the appellant’s health issues.
The Court of Appeal said the question was not whether it might have imposed a somewhat shorter sentence in light of the medical report. It had to allow the sentencing judge a margin of appreciation. The court concluded that the sentence was proportionate and that, although the sentencing judge had not expressly said so, the judgment showed that more than a little credit had been given for the guilty plea.
The appeal against sentence was dismissed. The Court of Appeal did not alter the sentence.