Mother begs court for ‘longest sentence possible’ for man who made sex abuse videos of her daughter
The Drogheda IndependentA 45-year-old man who made child sex abuse videos of his partner’s underage niece told Gardaí who arrested him that he was a paedophile.
The defendant appeared before Dundalk Circuit Court for sentencing. He pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual assault, two counts of knowingly producing child pornography and to one charge of possessing child pornography.
His victim was aged 8 when the offending came to light in 2023 following a complaint from her parents, and defence counsel said it was a harrowing case.
Remanding the man in custody to November 3 for finalisation, Judge Dara Hayes remarked it was very serious offending which will require a custodial sentence.
In a Victim Impact Statement the girl’s mother begged the court “for the longest sentence possible”.
A detective Garda gave evidence that the young girl would have sleepovers at her aunt’s house.
The victim said the sexual assaults “happened lots of times”. He told her it was a secret and she feared that she would get him into trouble.
The accused’s house was searched in September 2023 and he was arrested the same day.
Initially he responded to questions by saying, “I’m not going to answer that. That’s brutal, no truth in it. I don’t know.”
He then accepted it happened and that the victim was not making anything up.
"I might need therapy. Something happened to me when I was a child,” he said.
The defendant told investigators that he was sexually attracted to children, and was ashamed and embarrassed.
The detective continued that his phone was seized and on it were seven thumbnail images “consistent with child pornography”. All were videos of the victim.
He was re-arrested and interviewed. He accepted that all the videos were of the girl. They were kept on his phone for him.
There were two previous convictions for possession of drugs.
A Victim Impact Statement from the girl’s parents was read to the court.
It detailed how she had outbursts at school before anyone knew what had happened. Teachers thought she had autism or behavioural problems.
When she told her mother about the abuse it was like a weight had lifted off her.
Her mother acted quickly. There was an instant change in her daughter. The outbursts stopped, but she was emotionally and psychologically damaged.
The girl remained vulnerable and anxious and no longer felt safe. She was left traumatised and confused.
The mother said that the defendant was “unsafe to be allowed near any child” and she was “begging for the longest sentence possible”.
The girl’s father added that he had not spoken to his sister since after she took her partner’s side.
Everything had fallen apart, he added.
Counsel submitted that this was a harrowing case. The defendant was disgusted and remorseful.
He co-operated with Gardaí and “acknowledged the brutality of his actions”.
It was conceded there were inconsistencies with what he told the Probation Service.
The man knew he was going to jail. He wanted to return to the community and not be a threat to children.