A 50 year old County Clare man has been jailed for 15 years for raping his now ten year old daughter who he groomed by showing her pornography.
The abuse happened in Counties Clare and Westmeath on dates between October 2009 and October 2010.
At the Central Criminal Court last August – The man who cannot be named was found guilty on 3 charges of sexual assault, one of rape and a further charge of inviting his then eight year old daughter to watch a pornographic film.
The trial heard evidence that the abuse took began when the man’s daughter was just seven and ended at the age of 9 when she told her mother what was happening after she became aware of the concept of good secrets and bad secrets in social and physical studies in school.
Her father continues to deny the allegations and told gardaí he believed the girl’s mother put her up to it, claiming that his former partner had a vendetta against him.
But a jury convicted the accused on five charges and today the 50 year old was back before the central criminal court in Dublin for sentencing where the court was told he is unemployed and has a drink problem.
The judge described the offences as extremely serious and jailed the man for a total of 15 years – suspending the last five years.
+