Rape victim confronts brother in court after 40 years: 'I hand the shame back to you'

Olivia Payne faced her brother Gerry Mooney in Dublin's Central Criminal Court after he was convicted of raping her when she was 11. Sentencing is set for 23 November.

Rape survivor Olivia Payne delivers powerful statement at brother's sentence hearing

Olivia Payne stood in the Central Criminal Court in Dublin and turned to face her brother Gerry Mooney, 61, as she delivered a victim impact statement that laid bare more than four decades of silence, suffering, and ultimately, justice.

"I hand the filth, shame and disgust of those actions back to you," Ms Payne told Mooney, as reported by irishmirror.ie. She described the unanimous guilty verdict, returned earlier this year by a jury of 11 men and one woman, as a vindication she had long fought to obtain.

"You showed your true cowardice by lying through this process, shame, shame on you," she said directly to her brother.

Mooney, formerly of Clonin, Rhode, Co Offaly, was convicted of the rape and indecent assault of Ms Payne at their family home in 1982. He was 16 or 17 years old at the time; Ms Payne was 11. He had pleaded not guilty and has no previous convictions. Ms Justice Eileen Creedon remanded him on continuing bail for sentencing on 23 November.

'He had got away with it — or so he thought'

Ms Payne told the court that Mooney had believed for "40 plus years" that he had escaped consequences. "Each and every one of those years I have suffered those consequences," she said. She acknowledged the effect of the abuse may never fully stop, but said she would pursue "whatever means I can to help me heal my mind".

She described the "real win" not as the verdict itself, but as the inner strength she found to disclose the abuse and endure the court process — which she said took longer than she had hoped. "I come here today not as a new woman but one who has been vindicated, validated and most importantly believed," Ms Payne said.

Diarmuid Collins SC, prosecuting, told the court that Ms Payne had chosen to waive her right to anonymity.

The events of 1982

Sergeant Tracey Goslin gave evidence of what Ms Payne later described to gardaí. The family had a tradition of watching the nine o'clock news together, and as the youngest child, Ms Payne was sent into her parents' bed to warm it up before bedtime. She slept in a single bed in the same room at the time.

Mooney would come into the room and get in under the covers. On one occasion he sexually assaulted her; on another, he raped her. Ms Payne told gardaí she recalled it was around Christmas, because she remembered a television advertisement for a doll she wanted. Mooney promised to buy her that doll if she stayed silent.

"You violated my body in the most calculated manner, with no regard for the horror you were inflicting on me," Ms Payne said in her statement.

After the rape, Ms Payne noticed blood on her nightdress and on the sheet of her parents' bed. She tried to clean it with a facecloth and dried the damp patch by lying on the bed. When her parents came to bed that night, the sheet was still damp, and her mother accused her of wetting the bed before changing the sheets.

Decades of silence, then disclosure

Ms Payne said she had no knowledge of sexual matters at the time, as they were never discussed at home. She got married in 1992 and disclosed the abuse to her husband — the first person she ever told. She made a formal complaint to gardaí in January 2020.

Mooney was arrested and interviewed in April 2022. He said he had no recollection of the events as his sister had described them.

Ms Payne expressed particular gratitude to Sgt Goslin and the garda team for their conduct from the outset. "From the very first day I was assured they would leave no stone unturned," she said. She also thanked the Director of Public Prosecutions and the prosecution team for "seeing the truth" in her account.

"I want to seriously thank the prosecution team, the DPP for seeing the truth in my statement and the members of the garda team led by Sergeant Tracey Goslin for their support and dedication," she said.

Defence cites minor status and military record

Colman Fitzgerald SC, defending, asked the court to take into account that Mooney was a minor at the time of the offences. Counsel said Mooney served in the army for 20 years with "a perfect service record" and has continued to work, mostly in manual labour and the building trade.

Mooney is married with two daughters, both of whom submitted character references along with his wife. "They are acutely aware he has been convicted of these offences. The references simply tell you the man as they knew him," Mr Fitzgerald said. Mooney has been described in those testimonials as a hard-working man and a decent husband and father.

Mr Fitzgerald acknowledged that a significant custodial sentence was to be expected, but asked the court to be as lenient as possible in the circumstances.

'The jury heard my truth'

In closing her statement, Ms Payne returned to the jury, whose unanimous verdict she said had spared her from being "unjustly branded a liar" had Mooney's denials been believed.

"Each and every one of the 11 men and one woman believed me — they handed down a unanimous verdict — I will be forever grateful to each of those 12 people," she said.

She said she had disclosed the abuse because she could not accept that Mooney would "go unpunished for his vile actions". She added that he has shown no remorse.

Ms Justice Creedon will impose sentence on 23 November.

Source: The Sun