Michael Moran sentenced for raping niece and grandniece

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

Michael Moran was sentenced to 10 years, with the final three suspended, at the Central Criminal Court, as reported on 10 November 2015. He pleaded guilty to sample charges of raping his niece and grandniece in County Carlow over periods between 1983 and 2009. Judge Margaret Heneghan said his actions had caused great suffering and trauma to the victims. Moran had no previous convictions, entered an early guilty plea and co-operated with gardaí.

The court heard that one victim described repeated rape and threats, while the other said the abuse began when she was 11. Defence counsel said Moran wished to apologise and asked the judge to consider his guilty plea, previous good character and psychological report. The final three years of the sentence were suspended on conditions.