Abused daughter ‘paralysed with fear’ of father

‘BETRAYAL OF TRUST’ A man was sentenced at Castlebar Courthouse for sexually abusing his daughter.

A MAYO woman who was sexually abused by her father described how she was ‘easy prey’ for him and that he preyed on her ‘both night and day’.
The 79-year-old man, who cannot be named due to reporting restrictions, appeared before Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court where he was convicted and sentenced to 16 months imprisonment for sexually assaulting his daughter between 1978 and 1980.
The court also heard that the defendant is currently serving a four-year sentence following a conviction in the Central Criminal Court for raping another daughter.
The victim, now aged 54, was aged between 14 and 15 at the time of the abuse and in a victim impact statement, which she read in court, stated that she used to be paralysed with fear when her father would abuse her and that she was no match for him.
She explained that because of the abuse she fell behind in her education and she felt continuous shame for what occurred to her. Addressing her father she called him depraved and that he had taken her childhood from her.
Judge Rory McCabe was told that when the victim was in a shopping centre in Dublin in 2014, she saw a man who resembled her father and was overcome with fear. She decided then to come forward and in November 2014, she travelled to Mayo to confront her father.
Detective Garda Pauline Golden said that when the victim asked her father when he started to abuse her, she said his reply was: “You know yourself … as far back as you can remember.”
The victim told the court that her father showed no emotion or remorse for ‘destroying my life’. She said she underwent counselling and said that thanks to the support given to her, she has now found her voice.
Det Garda Golden said that the victim had difficulty recalling the abuse and when it happened but knew that it happened. She said she recalled one incident when she was sick and her father abusing her while she was lying on her parents’ bed.
The defendant, who sat in a wheelchair during the hearing, admitted the abuse to gardaí when he was arrested in December 2015 and pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault in July 2018.
Mr Brendan McDonagh, counsel for the defendant, said his client acknowledged his guilt and apologised to his daughter. He said he was in poor health and was separated from his wife, had no contact with his family, had no visitors in prison and was a social pariah.
Mr McDonagh said his client attempted to commit suicide after overdosing on medication. He added his health was failing and would not be surprised if he did not live beyond his sentence. He said he was now too old and sick to be a risk to anyone anymore.
Judge McCabe described the abuse as a ‘betrayal of trust’ and the victim impact statement clearly outlined the damage that would never be undone. He said such was the depravity of the abuse and the betrayal of trust he would like to impose a long sentence but by law the maximum sentence he could impose was two years imprisonment.
After taking into account the mitigating circumstances he imposed a 16 month sentence for each of the counts. He added that he was tempted to make the sentences consecutive but after hearing Mr McDonagh’s submissions on the defendant’s health he said the sentences would run concurrently.