Mayo man jailed for three years for sexual assaults and oral rape

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

A Mayo man received a three-year prison sentence from Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy at the Central Criminal Court for sexually assaulting and orally raping a boy. He was also placed on the sex offenders register.

He pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual assault and one count of oral rape. The offences took place at locations in Mayo during 2009 and 2010. The proceedings were reported on 22 May 2015.

The boy disclosed the abuse to his father in 2014 and subsequently described several incidents to gardaí. The court heard that the man had discouraged him from telling his parents by portraying the abuse as harmless fun. During questioning, the man acknowledged sexual assaults but initially denied oral rape.

In his victim impact statement, the boy described a ruined childhood and said he had told his mother he wanted to take his own life. He also described the man's behaviour as deceitful, saying he had treated him badly when others were present.

The man told gardaí he had suffered sexual abuse every week for over a year during childhood. A garda witness regarded his account as credible. Counsel said he was remorseful, addressing his sexual behaviour and avoiding contact with the boy and his family. His counsel also said relatives would support him after his release.

The judge said exceptional mitigating circumstances justified leniency and assessed the man as posing a very low risk of reoffending. He said the man's childhood abuse did not excuse his offences, while accepting that it formed part of their context.