Galway man jailed 13.5 years for raping and abusing two younger sisters
A 52-year-old man has been sentenced to 13 and a half years in prison after being convicted of raping and sexually abusing his two younger sisters in their Galway family home.
Galway brother convicted of decades of sexual abuse against two sisters
A 52-year-old man has been sentenced to 13 and a half years in prison for the rape and sexual abuse of his two younger sisters, breakingnews.ie reports. The offences took place in the family home in Galway across a period spanning from 1988 to 1994.
The man denied all charges but was found guilty following a trial before a Central Criminal Court jury. He had pleaded not guilty to five counts of rape of his older sister committed between January 1988 and December 1992, when she was aged between 11 and 16 and he was aged between 14 and 18. He also denied five further charges of indecent and sexual assault of the same woman during the same period, as well as three charges of oral rape between January 1991 and December 1993.
In relation to his younger sister, the man pleaded not guilty to four charges of sexual assault between January 1991 and December 1994, when she was aged between eight and 12, and to oral rape between May 1992 and May 1994, when she was aged between 10 and 11.
"My first step of healing"
The older sister delivered her victim impact statement in court. She said she never believed she would find herself in a courtroom reading such a statement and credited the detective involved and the Irish justice system for making it possible.
She described growing up in what she called a busy, loving and deeply religious household, and said the abuse began at a very young age. She recalled the first incident as occurring on the day of her communion and said she can no longer look at photographs from that day because it "brings me back to that monster."
She said the fear of discovery — specifically that nuns would take her away — kept her silent. At 18, she left the family home, describing the decision as "the lesser of two evils because I felt safe away from him."
The woman spoke of the lasting consequences of the abuse on her adult life. She described turning to alcohol to cope and said she ended up hospitalised due to excessive drinking. "I could have died, but I pulled through," she told the court. Her father subsequently made her swear never to drink again.
She also said her own children had suffered as a result of the insecurities the abuse had caused her, describing how she would "almost take the door off the hinges" if she realised her children were playing alone behind a closed door.
"To hear the word guilty is my first step of healing," she said. "I can now make the most of my precious future — I can begin to live for myself."
Younger sister: "No longer in my own mental prison"
The younger sister also read her victim impact statement into the record. She spoke of living with shame and guilt and of harming herself during her younger years. She described existing in what she called her own "mental prison," marked by panic attacks and persistent distress.
"If I had not dared to stand up and speak out, I would still be in my own mental prison," she said. "Finally being able to live and not just exist is the best outcome I can give myself."
Judge cites age as mitigating factor
Sentencing the man, Judge Kerida Naidoo said it was clear from both victim impact statements that the sexual abuse had inflicted "a serious and enduring impact" on the two women.
Judge Naidoo acknowledged that while the man was an adult for some of the offending, he was a minor when the majority of it took place. He said the man's age and level of maturity at the time would be applied as a mitigating factor in determining the sentence.
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If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800 778 888, access text and webchat support at drcc.ie, or visit Rape Crisis Help. In an emergency, dial 999 or 112.
Source: Irish Independent