A 79-year-old Dublin man has been jailed for 7 years for sexually abusing his two granddaughters.
The man pleaded guilty yesterday to 11 counts of sexual abuse in respect of the two girls on dates between 2006 and 2020.
Dublin People reported that the elder victim was aged between three and twelve years at the time of the abuse, while the younger was aged between was aged between five and eight years.
The court heard that the man, who initially denied any wrongdoing, would tickle the girls but that over time this has progressed into him touching their chest areas as well as their genitals both over and under their clothing.
The elder girl said that her grandfather had exposed his erect penis to her.
The abuse was exposed in 2020 after the younger girl, who is now 13 years of age, learned about inappropriate touching at school and alerted her teacher to what she had experienced.
The girls’ parents were contacted and the older sister confirmed that what her little sister said was true.
During interviews with specialist Gardaí which took place in 2020, the elder girl said that “as long as I can remember” her grandfather had been abusing her and that it happened “every time we were alone together”.
The grandfather was arrested in 2020 but made no admission. The case was delayed in coming before the courts.
The grandfather maintained his innocence until the second day of his trial before Dublin Circuit Criminal Court when a jury was sworn in.
The elder girl said that her grandfather had told her that she shouldn’t tell anyone about the abuse because they wouldn’t believe her.
She said that the abuse left her with “a desperate need and want for control” which developed into an eating disorder.
Some days she would allow herself only a cup of tea and a biscuit, while other days she wouldn’t have anything at all.
During her victim impact statement she referred to her grandmother telling her that good people go to heaven when they die, and bad people go to hell.
“If what my grandmother, your wife, told me is true about heaven and hell, then I know exactly where you are going.” she said.
She added, “You deserve every horrible thing that happens you. I hate you for what you did to me and my sister,”.
The girls’ mother described how the abuse had affected their family and how the girls’ brother felt responsible as he blamed himself for not protecting his sisters.
She said that her marriage had also broken down because of the actions of her father-in-law and that some of the family did not believe what the girls said was true.
“He took their innocence away. This broke our hearts.” she said recalling how she had left her daughters with their grandad believing that they would be safe and well looked after.
Sentencing Judge Elva Duffy imposed consecutive sentences of three years in respect to the sexual assault of the younger girl and four years in respect of the assault on the older girl.
Judge Duffy commended the “eloquence” of the victim impact statements saying that the damage done to the girls had “powerful consequences”.
Defence counsel, Padraig Dwyer SC, asked the court to take into consideration his client’s albeit late guilty plea as well as reports before the court that placed him at a low risk of reoffending.