Mum sexually assaulted daughter, 6 and let brother rape baby in act of ‘depravity’

WARNING, DISRESSING CONTENT: The sick mother, who is in her 50s, was convicted of two charges of sexual assault and one of rape facilitation, and was jailed for 15 years alongside her brother

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A mother who sexually assaulted her own daughter and facilitated her brother in raping the six-year-old child in a shocking act of “depravity and cruelty”, has been jailed for 15 years.

The woman’s brother, the child’s uncle, was also handed a 15-year sentence for his role in the rape. The horrific incident took place when the mother led her brother into a bedroom where the young girl was watching television on the bed, allowing him to rape the child while she observed.

The victim testified that she believed the assault occurred on the man’s birthday. The woman, now in her 50s, had pleaded not guilty to 14 charges, including 13 counts of sexual assault and one count of rape.

However, following an 18-day trial last July, a Central Criminal Court jury found her guilty of two counts of sexual assault between January and September 2001, and facilitating the rape of her child in March 2003.

The abuse began when the child was just four years old, with the mother assaulting her in the bed they shared. The uncle, now in his 40s, also denied six charges of rape but was convicted of one count of rape in March 2003.

The jury could not reach a verdict regarding a third defendant accused of orally raping the girl, and charges against him were subsequently dropped after the court heard that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) would not seek another trial. Both the mother and uncle continue to assert their innocence and reject the jury’s verdict, reports the Irish Mirror.

Anne-Marie Lawlor SC, the prosecutor, previously read out the victim’s impact statement in court, where the woman described her struggle to articulate the horrors she experienced as a child.

“The past lives with me,” the woman expressed, revealing that she was never “saved or spared from the abuse” and felt like “an outcast in school” due to feeling so “different”.

She confessed to carrying burdensome secrets that no one should have to bear, merely surviving rather than living. She spoke of living with “crippling fear” and struggling to see any worth in herself.

In sentencing the mother, Ms Justice Eileen Creedon praised the woman for her “extreme bravery” in speaking out about the abuse, especially when it involved her own mother.

“A young child should be nurtured by her mother and protected from danger,” the judge declared. “This makes this offending particularly cruel, egregious and depraved.”

The judge noted the mother’s involvement in offering her child to her uncle for rape “on the occasion of his birthday while she watched”.

Describing the abuse inflicted on the defenceless child by both offenders as “remarkable in its depravity and cruelty”, the judge added that the girl also grew up in an environment of “severe neglect and physical chastisement”.

Ms Justice Creedon handed down a headline sentence of 16 years to both culprits. She highlighted that they were not eligible for any reduction in this sentence as they persistently denied the charges, showed no remorse, and expressed no intention to rehabilitate.

She decided to reduce this headline sentence by one year, sentencing them both to 15 years in prison, with the sentences backdated to when each offender was taken into custody.

In her victim impact statement, the woman described feeling shattered and struggling “it more difficult to stay alive”.

She confessed to being fearful of romantic relationships and revealed she has since been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, alongside severe anxiety and depression.

The woman admitted she was terrified of the repercussions if she wasn’t believed after disclosing the abuse, but now recognises her strength, “having looked back”.

“Today I am no longer trying to survive, I am a survivor. Telling the truth saves you and others,” she bravely declared, adding that speaking her truth has saved her and broken the cycle.

“I am living proof that freedom and hope are possible,” the woman concluded her statement.

The local investigating garda confirmed that when the mother was arrested in relation to the allegations, her remaining children were taken into the care of the State.

The investigating garda confirmed to Desmond Dockery SC, representing the woman, that his client had resided in the family home alongside her brother, parents, another sibling, and her daughter.

He acknowledged to both Mr Dockery and Michael Lynn SC, who was defending the male accused, that there were “clearly alcohol issues” within the household.

Ms Lawlor informed the court that the DPP had classified the case at the most serious level, warranting a sentence of between 15 years and life imprisonment, citing the victim’s “very tender years” during the abuse, the breach of trust involved, and the depraved nature of facilitating a rape by the child’s uncle.

Mr Dockery urged the court to consider that his client had no prior convictions and had not attracted further garda attention.

He also pointed out that none of her other children had made accusations against her, whilst acknowledging that his client had demonstrated no remorse as she does not accept the jury’s verdict.

Counsel requested the court to recognise that his client had already faced “considerable punishment” through becoming a registered sex offender and suffering “a destruction to her reputation”.

Mr Lynn appealed to the court to acknowledge his client’s cooperation with the garda investigation, once again highlighting the “dysfunctional household” both defendants had lived in at the time.

Counsel noted that his client has one adult daughter and has been a hard worker throughout his life.