Man who regularly had sex with underage girl is jailed for defilement

A man who engaged in sexual acts with a 16-year-old girl, over a three-month period, has been jailed for two years.

The 45-year-old man pleaded guilty to three counts of engaging in sexual activity with a child under 17, known in law as defilement.

The court heard that offending occurred on dates between April and June 2020, in the three months before the girl's 17th birthday. She told gardai that it felt like she was in a genuine relationship with the man.

The man can't be named to protect the victim's right to anonymity. He has no previous convictions.  

READ ALSO: Garda shoots XL Bully after being 'cornered' during search of garden at Limerick home

An investigating garda told Conor McKenna BL, prosecuting, that the girl's father and the man became friendly as they used to both drink at the same pub.

The man became a big part of the family's life and would often stay overnight in their home.

The court heard the girl was feeling isolated at the time, as the family had moved back to Ireland a short time beforehand.  The man kissed the girl on the lips on New Year's Eve 2020 and she told gardai she didn't know what to do, but liked the attention.

In February 2020, the girl came home after drinking with friends. She fell asleep, then got up and kissed the man.

She told gardai she was drunk and didn't know why she did it. The man called her bold and said he was happy.

After this, the man began to make comments about her when her father wasn't around, describing her as sexy, beautiful and forbidden fruit. She said he told her he wanted to have sex with her, but couldn't.

She described getting drunk on another date, and waking in the early hours while he washed her, then digitally penetrated her vagina.

When the Covid-19 lockdown started, the man started spending more time in the family home and staying over regularly.

She told gardai she and the man started to have sex in April 2020 and estimated it occurred around 30 times over the period until her 17th birthday.  She also said she performed oral sex on the man once.

She told gardai it felt like a genuine relationship and she trusted him, but was naive at the time.

The court heard the man bought the girl jewellery, flowers, a teddy bear and other items. She handed over jewellery and a teddy bear to gardai as part of their investigation.  

Their relationship continued after her 17th birthday and became more open, which led to disagreements with her father.

The relationship ended in early 2022, and the girl made a complaint to gardai that September after the man started to visit a bar she would go to, which made her feel uncomfortable.

She declined to provide a victim impact statement.

READ ALSO: Five men arrested as illegal Irish 'cigarette factory' smoked out and dismantled by gardaí

The court heard the man was voluntarily interviewed by gardai in November 2023. He admitted to having sex with the girl when she was 16.

During the interview, he described her as provocative, and the one who initiated their interactions, which he gave into. He said he had been inadvertently in a relationship with the girl, and initially said, “as far as I’m concerned, I did nothing wrong”.

Later in the interview, the man acknowledged that he was now aware that he shouldn't have engaged in a sexual relationship with the girl.

The garda agreed with John Berry SC, defending, that there was no suggestion of coercion. It was further accepted that the man was co-operative, and told gardai that he wasn't going to say the girl was a liar.

It was also agreed that the man initially told gardai he had done nothing wrong, but accepted his wrongdoing during interview and that his guilty pleas were valuable.  

Mr Berry outlined the man's personal circumstances and background. The defendant has a long work history, but more recently has been working on an ad-hoc basis to care for his father, who has health issues.

He submitted to the court that there was a “degree of wilful blindness” on the part of the man, who knew the girl's age and should have known what he was doing was wrong.

Mr Berry suggested that the Covid-19 pandemic was a “very unusual time in Irish society”, and created the circumstances in which this offending occurred. He submitted this means it is unlikely his client will re-offend in future.

Mr Berry said his client had otherwise led a pro-social life and has family support.

He suggested that “both parties believed they were in relationship with each other at the time”, but the man's actions were criminal, and the girl was vulnerable.

Mr Berry asked the court to consider imposing a non-custodial sentence, noting his client has no previous convictions.

Judge Martin Nolan noted there is a significant age gap between the man and the girl.

He said this was “serious misbehaviour” and that the repeated nature of the offending was aggravating.

Judge Nolan said the court had concluded that the man “deserves a custodial term” and he imposed a two-year prison sentence.