Man loses appeal against 11-year sentence for raping and sexually assaulting niece

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

A man has lost his appeal against an 11-year prison sentence for raping and sexually assaulting his niece. On June 7, 2023, Ms Justice Karen O’Connor also directed that he be subject to post-release supervision for seven years.

The man cannot be named to protect his victim’s identity. In April 2023, a jury found him guilty of two counts of rape, one count of anal rape and two counts of sexual assault. He pleaded not guilty. The Central Criminal Court heard that the offences took place in the west of Ireland between December 2008 and 2013, when the girl was aged between seven and 13.

The sentence was backdated to when he went into custody in April 2023. The judge took his medical conditions into consideration and noted his previous conviction for sexual offending against another child.

The man argued on appeal that the headline sentence was too high and that the judge had erred by suspending none of the prison term. On November 25, 2025, Mr Justice Brian O’Moore dismissed the appeal, saying the severity of the offences, degradation and breach of trust justified the sentence.

Mr Justice O’Moore also rejected a submission that prison overcrowding warranted a lesser sentence. He said the sentencing judge had considered suspending part of the term but decided against it, taking account of factors including the man’s previous sexual assault conviction, his not-guilty plea and his description of the complainant as “a little liar”.