A married couple have been sentenced to 14 years each in jail, for what the judge described as a "savage" attack on their daughter who will need 24-hour care for the rest of her life.
The 39-year-old man and 37-year-old woman were convicted last year of assault causing harm and child cruelty at the family home in Dublin between 28 June and 2 July 2019.
Judge Martin Nolan said it was beyond imagination for parents to destroy their child in such a way. He said what they did was "grossly reprehensible" and "savage".
The judge said a possible explanation that they believed at the time that their daughter had been possessed by an evil spirit provided no defence or excuse.
The garda in charge of the investigation said the sentences sent out a message that this type of criminality would not be tolerated in this country.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard the child, who was nine years old at the time, suffered catastrophic brain damage and would be dependent on carers for the rest of her life.
The parents are originally from north Africa but came here some years ago. They cannot be named to protect the anonymity of the child.
The trial heard the girl had been regularly punched, beaten with a belt and a stick, choked, bitten and badly burned all over her body.
The girl was hospitalised on 2 July 2019 after the mother called her husband at work and told him she was unconscious.
She had suffered brain injuries as a result of a combination of blunt force trauma and violent shaking of the head.
Doctors discovered multiple bruises, bite marks and burns on her body.
She is now in a care centre and can no longer walk, talk or sit independently.
The couple's other children gave evidence at the trial that their parents regularly beat the little girl.
The court heard the father told a detective that at one stage he carried out a ritual to get the "devil" or "djinn" to leave her body
Judge Nolan said that even though only the child's mother was present in the home on the day she received the catstrophic brain injury, both defendants were jointly responsible for what happened to their child.
It seemed beyond imagination that one of them did not cry stop. They behaved in this way "for reasons only known to themselves", he said.
The possible explanation that they may have thought she was possessed by an evil spirit did not help them, the judge said.
Destroying their child in this way was grossly reprehensible to put it at its mildest, he added.
In mitigation, the judge said the man had a good work history. The family were under a great deal of pressure he said, living in very confined circumstances. He said the evidence was that the wife had difficulty coping with the situation they were in.
Judge Nolan said the court took into account that they had lost their children and that must be a heavy load for them to carry.
He said the court also took into account the fact that prison would be very difficult for them as they were foreign nationals who had difficulties with English.
However he said they both deserved long custodial terms.
He sentenced them each to 14 years in jail.
It was beyond imagination for parents to destroy a child in such a way, he said, and the "spiritual aspect" provided no defence or excuse. He noted that it was not the child who was possessed at the time; in his view it was the parents.
There was no reaction from the father when sentences were imposed. The mother bowed her head.
Speaking outside court, Inspector Brian Downey said the sentences set a tone and showed this type of criminality would not be tolerated in Ireland.
The sentences were very, very appropriate, he said, for a savage attack on a nine-year-old girl. Inspector Downey said it was almost tantamount to torture of the child by her parents.
The inspector said this was not a crime gardaí would see much of.
It was an outlier, he said, and it was no reflection on anyone else’s faith that these two people took it upon themselves to torture their child almost to death.
The little girl is now 11 years old and would not live a proper and full life. She would need around-the-clock care and her life would be cut short.
Inspector Downey said what they hoped would come out of this, is that people would know Ireland was a place where children have the right to be kept safe by the people who love them most, and this type of offence would not be tolerated here.
