Offaly man jailed for sexual abuse of younger sister in 'saddest' breach of family trust

The now 30-year-old Offaly man pleaded guilty to eight counts of sexual assault and one count of raping his younger sister in their family home on dates between 2010 and 2017. He was a minor for most of the offending. The pleas were entered on a full facts basis, Philipp Rahn SC, prosecuting, told the court.

The abuse is alleged to have started when the girl was aged eight years old, but the charges on the indictment are from when she was 10 and he was 14 years old, the court heard. The abuse ended when she left the family home at the age of 18.

The man has no previous convictions.

A local detective garda told the court that the abuse occurred when the girl was asleep in bed and took the form of inappropriate touching and grinding against her. She pretended to be asleep throughout, the court heard. If she moved, he would leave the room and return when he thought she was sleeping again.

It occurred on a near nightly basis, the court heard.

The rape occurred when she fell asleep on the sitting room couch one night, the court heard and awoke to find her brother raping her. On another occasion, he tried to anally rape her.

The abuse stopped for one year when the then teenage girl became pregnant with her first child with her boyfriend, but resumed after her baby was born. At the age of 18, with her mental health deteriorating, she moved out to live with a relative.

When she returned to live in the family home about a year later, she awoke to find him in her bed with his hand on her neck. She screamed at him to get off her, threatening to stab him. He never went near her again, the court heard.

The woman disclosed the abuse to a counsellor and made a statement to gardaí in 2023. The man was arrested and interviewed, but denied abusing his sister. He entered the guilty pleas on the first day of his trial last May.

In her victim impact statement, which she read herself to the court, the woman described how the abuse robbed her of her childhood and also of her family – as she said her parents have chosen to stand by her brother.

“Watching my parents continue to support my abuser while I try to rebuild my life is one of the most painful experiences,” she said.

The woman said she spent years living in “fear and silence”. “I lost my sense of safety, my trust in people, the support of my parents when I needed them the most.”

She said one of the hardest things was having to accept that it was her brother who caused her so much pain. “He was someone I should have been able to trust. Instead, he took away my sense of safety.”

She said the trauma has followed her throughout her life and she suffers with anxiety, intrusive thoughts, nightmares and night terrors. She dreads going to sleep at night.

She said she has found her voice and is glad she told her truth. “I did not choose what happened to me - the years of fear, trauma and the loss of my family,” she said. She said she continues to rebuild her life with the support of her children.

Diarmuid Collins SC, defending, read out a letter of apology from the man, in which he said: “I am genuinely sorry for the hell I put you through.”

“As the oldest sibling I should have had your back,” he said. “There is a special place in hell for someone like me...I won't ask for forgiveness as what I did was unforgivable.”

A letter from the siblings' mother was also read out in court, in which she said she loved both her children and regretted not knowing what was happening.

“As parents we failed,” she said. “We didn't protect (our daughter) nor get (our son) help before it got to a stage of no return. All we can try to do is be there for both of them.”

Sentencing the man today, Ms Justice Karen O'Connor said the “saddest” type of sexual offending was inter-familial abuse. “It is devastating for the family dynamic,” she said. She noted the victim feels she has lost her family as a result of the abuse she suffered at the hands of her brother.

Ms Justice O'Connor noted there was a significant age disparity between them as he was more than four years older than his sister. She said there was a “furtive” element to how he carried out the abuse late at night when he thought she was sleeping, demonstrating he knew how wrong it was.

“He was her older brother and should have protected her from harm,” the judge said. “Instead, he took advantage of his position in the family and abused his younger sister.” She noted it occurred over a long period of time.

The judge set a headline sentence of 12 years, which she reduced to six years taking mitigating factors into account including the man's youth at the time of the offending, his guilty pleas and remorse.

She suspended the final 15 months on a number of conditions including that he remain under the supervision of the Probation Service upon his release and engage in victim-focused programmes. She recommended he receive psychological intervention for his mental health issues.

In his plea of mitigation, Mr Collins said the man lives at home with his parents, works for a local company and lives an “isolated” existence. He has not had any meaningful romantic relationships.

A psychological report found the man has low intellectual functioning. His mother reported he would struggle to live on his own.