‘Deviant’ man, 45, convicted of ‘cold campaign of rape and sexual assault’ against wife and two young daughters over 15 years

A man who repeatedly raped his wife and two young daughters in a “breach of trust” of “his own flesh and blood” has been jailed for 17 years.

The 45-year-old, who cannot be named to protect the identities of his victims, had been charged with 185 counts of rape and sexual assault.

He pleaded guilty to sample counts and appeared at the Central Criminal Court in Cork this morning for sentencing.

His crimes spanned a period of 15 years.

One of the man’s daughters was raped from age 9 to 16, while the other was raped from age 9 to 11.

One of the young women noted that inappropriate touching began after she had made her Holy Communion, and that the abuse escalated from then on.

Madam Judge Mary Ellen Ring said the man breached his position of trust in the family home by abusing vulnerable young girls and their mother in a “cold campaign of rape and sexual assault” from 2004 to 2019.

Ms Justice Ring said the man had given no indication that he understood the “devastating impact” of his “deviant” actions on his family.

She said the eldest daughter was raped by her father for seven years, starting when she was just nine years old.

The violation of her person occurred “hundreds of times.”

One of her most traumatic memories was being attacked while she slept.

ABUSE REPORTED

The abuse of the mother and eldest daughter was reported to gardai in April 2020.

The man still lived in what was once his marital home.

He was interviewed five times and denied raping his eldest daughter. He even suggested that he may have been asleep when he walked into the bedrooms. This is despite significant and damning forensic evidence in the case.

Mrs Justice Ring said the ‘sexual violence’ against his now ex-wife took place in a coercively controlled relationship in which she became increasingly isolated as the years progressed.

Even when she became ill in the last years of their marriage, he continued to rape her.

WEEKLY ATTACKS

She was first raped by him in a hotel room after a wedding reception. He threatened to commit suicide after she confronted him.

Mrs Justice Ring said the woman was raped “three or four times a week” for years. She “learned not to react because it made him more excited.”

When she told him she planned to leave, he threatened to commit suicide or take their children from her.

The man was on trial in connection with the rape of his second daughter last month.

GUILTY

As in the previous cases, he pleaded guilty as soon as he had the opportunity to do so. Mrs Justice Ring said that this young woman, who is still a teenager, was raped by her father from the age of nine to eleven.

All three women gave victim impact statements to the judge. The eldest daughter recalled showering and scrubbing until she bled after being raped by him. It was a source of great sadness to her that he once bought lingerie for her birthday.

She said she “never felt safe” as a child. However, she now has “good days and bad days” and considers herself a survivor.

The man’s ex-wife said he had robbed her of all her self-confidence and self-esteem and that she blamed herself for what he had done to their daughters.

EMOTIONAL ABUSE

She said the emotional abuse continued even after she left her husband.

He told people in the area about the accusations made against him, depriving her and her daughters of the right to anonymity regarding the crimes committed against them. She suffers from panic attacks after years of abuse.

The youngest daughter said that she was regularly raped from the age of nine to eleven. She is still a teenager, but she doesn’t feel like a ‘normal teenager’.

Mrs Justice Ring said the man even used the young girl’s pets as “weapons” when they left the family home. She now has new pets and is going to therapy.

‘Unspeakable behavior’

Mrs Justice Ring wished all the women well in the future as they endured “unspeakable behaviour” while “confined” in their family home.

The judge said: “Their determination to bring the case forward is to be welcomed. None of these women bear any blame. All that rests on the shoulder of (the said man).

“From 2004 to 2019, he coldly engaged in a campaign of rape and sexual assault against his wife and daughters, threatening and manipulating his wife and daughters. It had devastating consequences for the family.”

Mrs Justice Ring said that in addition to vaginal and oral rape, the use of a vibrator to rape his wife and daughters made the offenses even more degrading and degrading to the women.

The man, who has no previous convictions, received a prison sentence of eighteen and a half years, of which the last eighteen months were conditional.

Following his release from prison, Mrs Justice Ring ordered him to comply with all conditions set by the Probation and Welfare Service.

The case was investigated by Detective Constable Elaine Scannell and Detective Constable Brian Morris of the Garda Protective Services Unit in Co Cork.

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