Abuse survivor Sophie Brady says she has decided to speak publicly to push for an increased sentence for her cousin, David Hamilton, who pleaded guilty in recent weeks to abusing her and an older relative.
"I would have quite happily remained anonymous… maybe my whole life," Sophie told Prime Time, "but when I heard the sentences... that infuriated me and it pushed me and drove me."
Last week, David Hamilton pleaded guilty to sexual assault of Ms Brady and guilty to rape, oral rape and sexual assault of an older female relative in Co Meath on dates between 2004 and 2008.
He was sentenced to serve seven-and-a-half years, with the final 12 months suspended. However, he initially received 14 years, which Sophie said was "fair because I will carry this with me for a lot longer than 14 years."
The sentence was reduced on account of an early guilty plea, and the fact the crimes were committed while Hamilton was a minor.
David's brother Jonathan pleaded guilty to one count of rape and sexual assault of Sophie’s older sister on one occasion on a date in 2005. He was sentenced to three years with the final six months suspended.
"The sentence is disappointing and it's not what they expected and it's not what they deserve. It's not fair and it's not just, and I didn't want to be just another number," Sophie said.
The abuse began when Sophie was seven years old, at the time her cousins lived nearby.
"We would all have played together. I would've spent quite a bit of time in their bedroom," Sophie told Miriam O’Callaghan, "They had Game Boys, the newest technology — stuff we didn’t have. I was just a little girl, amazed by it all."
"Looking back, that's probably why things escalated to where they did because they had so much access to me."
Sophie said she knew by age 10 that the "groping, touching, feeling in places that were completely private and personal to me" was not ok, so she decided to tell an older relative.
"I sat them down and I said, I don't really understand how to word myself on what has happened here, but I know what has happened was wrong."
It wasn’t until March 2020, at age 20, that Sophie made a formal statement to Gardaí. "I had PTSD, I’d wake up crying, I’d bump into him in my local town and he was just living his life, very much not impacted by what he had done to me as a child," she said.
Her decision to report was strengthened by an older relative who had also been abused by the same two brothers. She said "knowing that I wasn't completely alone in it" helped her realise the abuse was not her fault.
"I always blamed myself. I always thought that, okay, it's because I was too loud or it's because I was dramatic and I wanted an acting career."
Sophie describes the court experience as "draining" and "tiring," adding "I was a lot more disappointed and deflated coming out than I was going in."
She praised the Gardaí for taking her seriously and standing by her throughout the process and says despite the challenges she is clear on one thing: reporting her abusers changed the course of her life.
"They are still sleeping behind bars tonight, and I did that. It mightn't be for as long as I would've liked, but they are still there and somebody believes me. In fact, thousands of people believe me. I can take some comfort from that."
"I don't want it to change me my whole entire life. I don't want become angry and bitter. I want to be able to have some kind of a future," she said.
Watch the full interview with Miriam O'Callaghan and Sophie Brady on 8 April edition of Prime Time on RTÉ Player.
