Man from Carlow jailed for sexual abuse of young next door neighbour

A 26-year-old man from Carlow has been jailed for the sexual abuse of his young next door neighbour when he was a teenager.

The man, who cannot be named to protect the anonymity of his victim, has been jailed for six and half years following a conviction by a Central Criminal Court jury in October. He was convicted of thirty-one counts of sexual assault, oral rape and attempted anal rape of the boy at locations close to his and his victim’s home in Carlow, on dates between January 2012 and August 2017.

The convicted man has no previous convictions. He was aged between fourteen and nineteen years old during the offending while his victim was aged between seven and ten years old.

'The court heard the offending involved the accused man touching his victim’s penis and making the victim touch his. It escalated to oral rape and attempted anal rape.'

'The victim described specific incidents during the trial but said it occurred many more times.'

'The offending came to an end as the accused and complainant’s lives diverged as they aged.'

In a victim impact statement read to the court, the young man said the assaults 'made my life a complete nightmare.'

'Nobody knew a thing besides me and him. He used to tell me it was our little secret.' The accused 'knew I was vulnerable and took full advantage of me.' He told the court he finds it difficult to sleep at night and suffers from severe anxiety.

'On the inside I'm broke and completely torn to pieces. I will never be right because of him.'

'I just don't want this to happen to another innocent child like it did to me,' he said, before thanking the court and prosecuting counsel.

Mr Justice Kerida Naidoo said today, Monday 18th December, it was clear that 'the offending had a profoundly damaging effect on the victim.'

He noted 'the offending did not involve gratuitous violence over and above the acts themselves but said it was serious offending and occurred over most of the victim's childhood.'

Justice Naidoo noted in mitigation the accused man’s age and maturity level at the time, acknowledging that his immaturity reduced his culpability. He also noted that the accused 'had persisted in his offending, without gaining insight into the harm he was doing or showing victim empathy as he matured. He had set about persuading the younger child it was 'normal' by showing him pornography at a young age.'

Judge said 'the accused was not entitled to the mitigation a guilty plea would bring and does not accept his wrongdoing.'

'Given the persistent nature of the offending the lack of previous convictions was not a mitigating factor, but the fact he has not come to subsequent adverse garda attention was mitigating.'

He noted 'the man’s family were decent people and good neighbours' but said 'this was not mitigation for the man.' He accepted the man 'led an isolated life and that testimonials before the court speak to a good character.'

'Justice Naidoo set headline sentences totalling fourteen years, which was reduced to eight years taking into account mitigation. He suspended the final eighteen months on strict conditions to encourage rehabilitation.'

Prosecuting garda told Vincent Heneghan Senior Counsel prosecuting, that 'both the victim and accused man had been living on a small housing estate. There weren't many children in the area so they would have played with each other.'

The garda said 'when the two boys weren't overlooked by adults, the accused man would show the victim pornography and sexually abuse him. This abuse took the form of mutual touching of penises, oral sex, and attempted anal rape.'

'The abuse occurred in the rear shed of the accused man's house, inside a room within that house and in a cornfield near the housing estate.'

Colman Cody Senior Counsel defending, said his client 'maintains his innocence in respect of these charges' and that prison will be 'particularly difficult' for him. He said 'there was no suggestion that violence or the threat of violence had been used during the course of abuse. There was no element of grooming in the abuse, and the two boys had become friends because they were neighbours.'

Mr Cody added that 'the issue of minority clearly has to play a significant part as much of the offending occurred when the accused man was underage.'