A 60-year-old man has been jailed for three years for sexually assaulting his stepdaughter on ten occasions when she was aged between six and 13, mostly while she was sleeping.
Noel Foran, of Birchview Close, Kilnamanagh, Tallaght in Dublin, pleaded guilty just before his trial was due to take place earlier this year.
The abuse occurred between 1991 and 1998 and was first reported to gardaí 21 years ago.
His victim, Irene Cullen, who is now 37, said she only became aware of the full extent of the abuse after Foran pleaded guilty in May.
In her victim impact statement, she said her innocent childhood had been stolen from her.
Garda Aisling O'Connor told prosecuting counsel Diana Stuart that Ms Cullen remembered only one incident of abuse, on New Year's Eve 1996, when she was 11 years old.
Foran came into her bedroom when her mother had gone out to a party, removed her pyjama bottoms and attempted to sexually assault her.
She resisted despite pretending to be asleep and remembers that he never spoke and smelled of alcohol.
He returned to her bedroom around four more times, stopping only when her mother came home.
Ms Cullen said she did not understand what was going on but knew it was wrong.
She had so little knowledge of sex education that she feared afterwards that she might be pregnant as a result of what had happened.
The next day, she said, everything carried on as normal.
But around six weeks later, she told her mother about the incident after a Stay Safe programme in her school, which mentioned the importance of telling a trusted adult if something was wrong.
Her mother believed her and was very upset. Later, she told her daughter that Foran had admitted what he had done and it would not happen again.
Ms Cullen said it was never spoken of after that, but she felt confused and "frightened all the time" and had difficulty sleeping.
She was very close to her grandparents, but did not want to tell her grandfather in case he confronted Foran and got into trouble himself.
When she was 16, she went to live with her grandfather and did not return home.
In 2002, Ms Cullen's mother reported the abuse to gardaí on the advice of social workers, but no statement was taken from Irene.
Foran left the family home and attended counselling at the Granada Institute, which is now closed.
He admitted to the counsellors that the abuse started when Irene was six and lasted until she was 13. He said it took place while she was asleep.
Foran said that, at the time of the assaults, he and his wife were not getting on and he claimed he needed "comfort and affection".
He admitted it happened approximately ten times and expressed his remorse. The institute assessed him as being at low-risk of reoffending and he returned to the family home.
Irene reported the abuse to gardaí in 2017. They obtained the counselling records and Foran admitted it in garda interviews.
He took judicial review proceedings to stop his prosecution based on the amount of time that had passed since the original offences.
However, he eventually dropped the legal challenge and pleaded guilty to three counts in May, with the other seven charges to be taken into account.
It was only at this stage that Ms Cullen said she became fully aware of the true extent of the assaults.
She was unaware of what he had said to counsellors and that most of the assaults had taken place while she was asleep.
'I would not wish this journey on my worst enemy'
Ms Cullen told the court her mental health had been profoundly affected by what had happened.
She said that, since 2017, she had spent more than 500 days in hospital away from her husband and children because of the stress of the legal proceedings.
"My close friends and family tell me I am strong and brave," she said. "But I do not feel that way. I feel like this is a life path I have been forced to walk, and at some stages to crawl. I would not wish this journey on my worst enemy."
Ms Cullen said it was frustrating for her that Foran "had all the information" and she did not, even though it was her life and her body.
She had been dreading the sentencing hearing as being in a courtroom hearing the details for the first time "made the whole thing worse".
But Ms Cullen said she had always suspected there had been more than one night and had always wondered how she knew how to protect herself on that New Year’s Eve.
She said the effects of the abuse were life-changing and she was constantly on edge during the lengthy legal proceedings.
She could not sleep or eat properly or plan events with her family. She described her "inner core" as feeling like she was about to do the Leaving Cert all the time, adding that she has a lot of therapy ahead.
'I just want peace' and to live life
Judge Orla Crowe said this was an unusual case.
She said there was a fundamental abuse of trust by a man who was a father figure for a small girl.
Her childhood and her innocence had been stolen, the judge said, and her bodily integrity and her trust had been violated.
She said Ms Cullen was still dealing with the consequences to this day.
The judge said a custodial sentence was warranted because of the very grave breaches of trust involved in Foran repeatedly sexually assaulting his sleeping stepdaughter in her own house and her own bed.
She imposed 18-month sentences on two of the counts, but she said in light of the seriousness of the matters, she would make the sentences consecutive, meaning Foran has been jailed for three years.
Ms Cullen, who is married with children of her own, said she was happy with the sentence.
During the legal process, she said, she was terrified to say anything but now wanted to speak out.
She was concerned that if anyone mentioned the case on social media it could jeopardise Foran's trial.
She said she essentially "disappeared" for three years and her friends did not know what had happened to her.
But Ms Cullen said that, although she feels broken, she thinks she will be proud of herself when she looks back on this time.
She said she hoped she would find calm and happiness again and return to being the mother that her children needed and deserved and to live her life with her family and friends.
"I just want peace. I just want it to be done," she said.
If anyone is affected by details contained in this report, help is available from the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre on 1800 77 8888
