A woman whose three children were raped and sexually assaulted by her former partner has said the harm he inflicted was not reflected in the sentences he received.
Brendan Cornally, 51, of O'Brien Street, Tullamore in Co Offaly, will serve a total of 17-and-a-half years for the rape and sexual assault of Georgina Touhey's two sons and the sexual assault of her daughter. All of the children are now adults.
Cornally was jailed for ten years for the sexual abuse and rape of one of Ms Touhey's sons between 2015 and 2019, when the boy was aged between 10 and 14 years old.
He was then jailed for a further 21 months after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting the boy's sister between May 2012 and June 2014 when she was between 13 and 15 years old.
The sentence imposed today for raping Ms Touhey's other son between April and August 2018 when the boy was 13 will bring his global sentence up to a total of 17-and-a-half years.
Ms Justice Caroline Biggs said she felt a global sentence of 20 years would be appropriate but suspended the final two-and-a-half years on strict conditions for five years, in order to incentivise his rehabilitation.
The court heard Cornally's third victim had additional needs. The boy was diagnosed with mild learning difficulties and mild autism as a child but his condition seriously deteriorated in the run up to the trial process. He has now been medically diagnosed and hospitalised with catatonia.
Ms Justice Biggs said the irony of the case was that the most significant aggravating factor was the impact the abuse had on this boy but the plea of guilty was as a result a very valuable mitigating factor. She said if the boy had been required to give evidence the effects could have been catastrophic.
Ms Touhey told Judge Biggs the sentence would be appealed. The DPP has 28 days to decide whether or not to appeal on the grounds of undue leniency.
She said her children's lives had been altered for life and there was no deterrence in the sentence that had been imposed.
"There is nothing you can say to console me," she told the judge. "The harm is done".
She said the harm inflicted had not been reflected in the sentence, and she said she did not know how she could ask people to come forward and report abuse when she knew the justice system would let them down.
Ms Touhey said Cornally would get support in prison to help him but no one was giving rehabilitation to her children and she was doing it all herself.
Ms Justice Biggs said the children had an extraordinary mother, but she said it was her job as sentencing judge to take a number of factors into account. She said she had carefully considered her sentence and could not reconsider it.
The judge said Cornally had gained Ms Touhey's trust after meeting through a local boxing club. They formed a relationship and even when that relationship ended, he continued to "exhibit a fatherly role" helping to care for the children while she was at work.
Ms Touhey had believed she could trust him, the judge said, but the trust was breached in a horrific way.
