A man who raped his stepdaughter on her 15th birthday has been jailed for nine-and-a-half years at the Central Criminal Court.
Anthony Byrne, 55, was found guilty following a trial at the Central Criminal Court in May of two counts of raping his stepdaughter Kim Jordan who is now 36, in 2002.
Ms Jordan waived her anonymity to allow Byrne to be named.
Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring, who previously noted Byrne had claimed he was "having an affair with his teenage stepdaughter," sentenced him to 11 years with the final 18 months suspended.
The judge said it was difficult to understand how any sexual encounter with a child was considered consensual.
Ms Jordan told RTÉ News she was glad Byrne got a "decent enough sentence" and could not harm anyone else.
She said no amount of time in the world would take away the pain he caused and the scars that will be left but the sentence was a starting point.
She said she and her sister, Shauna, who supported her and gave evidence against Byrne, were relieved it was all over.
Ms Jordan said she and her sister, as well as their partners and family would never have to see him again, would never waste another day being dragged to court and could finally start focusing on their futures and all the good that was to come.
Ms Jordan said she wanted to thank investigating gardaí, the prosecuting lawyers, the judge and support group One in Four.
Byrne, of Ballyfermot Road, Ballyfermot, Dublin 10, came into Ms Jordan's life when she was three years old and the court heard the relationship was significant for her as they were close when she was a child.
The court heard the offending occurred when Ms Jordan was in Spain on the day of her 15th birthday in 2002 and several months later in her family home.
Ms Jordan made a complaint to gardai in 2018 and outlined what had happened.
While he was raping her, she said she zoned out and became completely numb wishing she was dead.
She still has the memory of the woodchip wallpaper as she faced away while he was raping her. She was also worried she would become pregnant.
The second count of rape of which he was convicted took place some months after they had come back from Majorca when Byrne came into her bedroom.
Ms Justice Ring said the aggravating factors were that it was a rape of a child and his stepdaughter.
She said Byrne took advantage of the victim when there was no trustworthy adult present.
On one of the occasions, he had raped her in her bedroom where she should have felt safe but Byrne had "breached that safety," the judge said.
Ms Justice Ring noted Byrne admitted throughout that he had sexual intercourse with her, but it was his view that it was consensual.
The judge said it was difficult to understand how any sexual encounter with a child was considered consensual.
She said there was a lack of remorse and understanding of what consent is.
The judge noted that he had no previous convictions and has worked his whole life.
In a victim impact statement Ms Jordan read to the court, she said Byrne had blamed her during the trial for his actions.
"I felt humiliated and shamed, as you portrayed me to be some kind of teenage sexual temptress," she said.
"After spending my very early years wondering why my biological father wasn't around and why my family was broken, I felt as though my prayers had been answered and I finally had the family I longed for when Tony came into my life and that I finally had a dad. Little did I know his plan was to use me for his sick sexual pleasures and would go on to ruin my life."
The court heard she and her sister have continued a relationship despite Byrne trying to keep them apart.
She said she had found her voice and was glad to stand in court to hold Byrne accountable for the childhood he stole from her.
She said she would continue to serve a life sentence because of what he had done to her.
Ms Jordan said she had never wanted anything from him except for him to love her like a father.
But she said she now knew he was not capable of loving anyone unconditionally except himself.
She said she was now proud of who she was and would not carry his shame or guilt any more or keep his dirty secrets.
