A man who sexually abused his eight-year-old cousin almost 25 years ago, has been jailed.
The 40-year-old pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault at an address in Co Kildare during the summer of 1999. He cannot be named to protect the victim's anonymity.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that the maximum sentence at that time for sexual assault was five years.
An investigating garda outlined that the man was 15 at the time of his offending, while the injured party was then eight.
Four incidents of sexual assault took place in her family home where he was staying for the summer.
The teenager was the eldest of the children and viewed as an adult by the victim, who did what he said.
In a victim impact statement read to the court by John Moher BL prosecuting, the victim said the man had entered the house as a "young male placed in position of trust and superiority", who was old enough to be trusted by her parents and "old enough to know better".
She said his sexual abuse was "not innocent curiosity" and that he used the trust placed in him to manipulate and abuse her, destroying her childhood.
Abuse 'changed the trajectory of my life'
The victim said the abuse "changed the trajectory of my life" and that she had lived with shame and guilt, while he participated actively in family events.
She said the man was "celebrated" by others who were aware of the abuse.
"You are not the only one who should hang their head in shame," she said, describing how she was told she was "mistaken" by another person, that he was checking on her after she had had a bad dream and he would not do something like that.
The woman said she has vivid memories of the sexual assaults, and outlined one for the court.
"Do you feel shame and humiliation like I did?," she asked the man in her statement, "do you feel terror like I did?"
She said the man's actions were not an error in judgement, a mistake or a one-time occurrence.
The woman outlined the effects of the abuse including trust issues, nightmares, and mental health difficulties. She said she decided to report the abuse and confront the past for her children.
"I guarantee my sentence has already been longer than any that this court may impose on you," she said. "I hand you back the shame."
"May you carry the weight of your actions for the rest of your life...may you never be free. May you be haunted like I have been".
John Berry SC, defending, said he was instructed to apologise to the victim.
He asked the court to take into account his client's guilty pleas, expressions of remorse, acceptance of responsibility and young age at the time when imposing sentence.
He said his client has sought assistance, with letters handed to the court from the HSE.
Counsel said his client's family situation was in a "state of flux" at the time, which was not an excuse but may provide context to his offending. His client has not come to other garda attention and has no previous convictions.
The man has a good work history, is married and has two children, the court was told.
Imposing sentence, Judge Martin Nolan noted the impact of the offending on the victim, who is "still suffering to some degree from what her cousin did to her".
The judge noted the man committed these offences when he was a juvenile and that the offending took place over 25 years ago.
He said he had taken into consideration the man's guilty plea, expressions of remorse, lack of other convictions and his work history.
Judge Nolan said the repeated nature of the offending troubled the court, which had to consider if the man's behaviour was "so reprehensible even taking into account his age at that time" that a custodial sentence had to be imposed.
He said the court had concluded that a custodial sentence was required and handed the man a three-year term with the final two years suspended on strict conditions.
