‘It wasn’t molesting, it was just touching’: father who said his actions were ‘the work of the devil’ jailed

A man who sexually assaulted his own daughter over the course of 10 years and told her he never did anything “really bad” or robbed her of her virginity, has been jailed for five and a half years.

His actions were “the work of the devil”, he said, and he “asked God to take it away”, but even maintained to gardaí that it was “just touching” and “wasn’t that bad”.

In her victim impact statement, his daughter said she reported his actions to gardaí because one of her sisters was still living with him and “I was so scared that she would also become a victim”.

“I wasn’t protected. I’d be damned if anything was to ever happen to her.”

The man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his victim, appeared before Judge Keenan Johnson at Mullingar Circuit Court, where he pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual assault, including penetration with his fingers.

He previously pleaded guilty to three similar counts. There were 23 counts in total on the indictment for incidents which occurred between September 2007 and December 2012, all within the family home, while the girl was between the ages of eight and 17.

Judge Johnson praised the complainant, now in her 20s, for delivering “a powerful and insightful” victim impact statement, in which he said she “had her childhood stolen by the criminal actions of the accused”.

He told her she “shone a light into the darkness that is sexual abuse”, and showed a pathway to justice for other victims who feel helpless about their own situatiosn.

Previously, Detective Garda Olivia Kelly told Cathal Ó’Braonáin, BL, prosecuting, that she met with the victim on April 12, 2023, for the purpose of getting a statement.

The injured party told gardaí that she had memories of her father being inappropriate with her since she was eight years old, and groping her.

The man would rub lotion all over her body after she showered and would take “a really long time”, which made her feel uncomfortable even at a young age. She said he would tell her to position herself and he would take longer on her bottom and genitals. This would happen on a weekly basis, she said, and it took place on her parents’ bed.

She gave further details of how her father would hold her close on the couch and put his hand in her shorts and on her bottom. He would move his hand and grope her and this “happened a lot”, she said.

The girl used to wear nightdresses, which she would pull down “to signal to him to stop, but he never did”. She tried to “scooch away” and even wore shorts to protect herself, but “he’d always find a way” to grope her. The groping incidents were still happening when she was 17 years old and studying for her Leaving Cert.

The sexual abuse escalated further when she was 12 years old and her mother travelled to South Africa for a month. During that month, the accused didn’t go to work.

He told his daughter he was “lonely” and started putting her in his own bed. She told gardaí she was wearing a nightdress and that her father started to penetrate her with his fingers, while whispering in her ear.

She said that happened four or five times before she stood up to him and insisted on sleeping in her own bed.

Before her mother returned, she said the accused took her for a walk and told her “we have to stop this”. He said it was wrong and it was “the work of the devil” and told her to keep it secret.

It was years later that the victim spoke up about the abuse. She told her mother, who was “devastated” and crying. She was angry, the court heard, and wanted to confront her husband. But within two days, she switched her anger to her daughter, who was no longer welcome at home.

The victim’s sister took a recording of a conversation in which the accused said, “I never did anything really bad” and “I didn’t mean it, but I never robbed you of your virginity or anything”.

When he was interviewed by gardaí, he admitted to touching the girl from age nine to 11, and said “it was one or two times per month” after she showered. He denied penetrating her with his fingers and told gardaí: “It wasn’t that bad. It wasn’t molesting, it was just touching.”

In a victim impact statement, the accused’s daughter said that she spent most of her life pushing down memories for survival.

“I believed I was the problem. I was broken and somehow I deserved the pain I experienced,” she said.

“Now I can see the truth. I was just a little girl trying to make the world make sense. I just wanted to keep my family together.

“I’m free and finally safe. I’m not the one at fault.”

She said she never wanted revenge and still doesn’t. She still loves her father but “love is not a free pass” and she was scared that her youngest sister would also become a victim.

“I refuse to let this be my story. It’s not easy. It hurts, but I’m doing it for myself and my sister and for that little girl who now knows it wasn’t her fault.”

Vincent Heneghan, SC, for the defence, told the court that his client made admissions and cooperated with gardaí. He complied with bail and has not come to further garda attention.

“He’s lived an isolated life since being investigated. He accepts this is an outrageous thing to have done,” he said.

Further mitigation outlined that the accused was a committed family man who was remorseful and had attended counselling to gain a greater insight into the damage he had caused.

He also had no previous convictions – however, a psychological report commissioned by the defence and which included an assessment of risk of reoffending was not shared. Judge Johnson expressed his disappointment at that and inferred that it was not a positive report.

On one of the charges, he imposed a sentence of seven years and six months, suspending the final two years for a period of five years. Concurrent sentences of four years and five and a half years were handed down on two of the other charges.

Conditions for the suspension of his sentence include that he remain under the supervision of the probation service for 18 months post-release, and attend counselling to address his sexual offending.