Man, 49, jailed for sexually assaulting teenage babysitter
The defendant pleaded guilty at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court.
A man who sexually assaulted a teenage babysitter has been jailed for two years.
The 49-year-old accused, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim, pleaded guilty to the offence when he appeared before a sitting of Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court.
The injured party was aged 13 and 14 when the offences occurred in a Mayo town in December 2006 and February 2008.
The man was married to the victim’s cousin at the time of the first offence. She was babysitting for the couple when they were out socialising. The accused returned before his wife and got into the bed that the then 13-year-old was sleeping in.
He put his hand down her pyjama bottoms and underwear and put his fingers inside her vagina. She told him to stop but he would not. The assault lasted two to three minutes before she pushed his hand away and ran down the stairs.
The injured party was afraid to tell her mother or the Gardaí because she did not want to break up the marriage. The accused sent her a text message the next day apologising and asking her not to tell his wife as he didn’t want to lose her and their kids.
The marriage had broken down by the time the next offence occurred in February 2008. The accused was living at a different address and asked the victim to babysit. He returned to the house in the early hours with a friend who fell asleep on a sofa.
The defendant sat beside the injured party on a two-seater couch and they were watching a DVD when he persistently put his hand down her tracksuit bottoms and underwear. She repeatedly told him to stop and pulled away before running up to bed.
The accused has one previous conviction for road traffic matters. The court heard he has several children with various women.
When interviewed by Gardaí, the man said his memory of the events were hazy due to alcohol.
Senior counsel Bernard Madden, representing the accused, said his client has a drink problem but has been sober for seven months. He wished to apologise to the injured party and had brought €5,000 to court as a token of his remorse.
Mr Madden noted that his client will now be on the Sex Offenders Register as a result of his behaviour.
Judge Eoin Garavan said the man’s actions had “blighted” his victim’s life, adding that he “took clear advantage of a child”.
“She was robbed of her innocence at a pretty tender age,” the Judge remarked.
Judge Garavan said the crime “must be met with a custodial sentence”.
The accused was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison with the final nine months of the term suspended. He has also been ordered to undertake a sex offenders' treatment programme and attend counselling for alcohol issues while in prison.
Judge Garavan praised the “courage” of the injured party.
“It’s never too late to complain,” he stated.
