Woman's life was 'destroyed' by sex assaults
The defendant pleaded guilty at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court.
A sexual assault victim has said her life has been “destroyed” by the crimes committed against her.
The woman wanted her assailant named after the case was heard at a sitting of Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court last week.
The defendant, Jorge Paris, aged 61, of Monastery Heath Court, Clondalkin, Dublin, pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual assault and one count of attempted sexual assault. His offending against the woman began when she was still a child but the offences before the court occurred when she was an adult at two addresses in Mayo between 2000 and 2003. The victim is now aged 48.
The court was told that Paris and the injured party first met when she was three-years-old and he began abusing the woman when she was six or seven.
On December 26, 2000, the injured party was in her home when Paris was visiting over the Christmas period. While she was washing dishes, he approached her from behind and pulled down her leggings. He then sexually assaulted her by inserting his fingers in her vagina.
A second similar incident occurred on the same date at the same location.
In February 2003, Paris perpetrated the same act against the woman while she was heavily pregnant. An attempted sexual assault also took place on January 6, 2002.
The court heard Paris was aged between 37 and 39 when the offences took place.
In her victim impact statement, which was read out in court, the woman addressed the defendant: “You destroyed my childhood, adulthood, motherhood, my while world,” she told Paris.
The woman said she was “barely able to read” when she was first abused. She said the anger the crimes caused has never left her and she suffers from a deep sense of shame and embarrassment.
“You are the one who should be ashamed,” she told her assailant.
She said Paris was a “monster” and a “predator” and she can never forgive him.
The court heard Paris was a member of the Jehovah’s Witness Church but has been “defellowed” following his offending.
The married father of two has been employed for the past 25 years with the same company and has no previous convictions.
Senior counsel Desmond Dockery, representing Paris, said there was no evidence of any other victims. An apology from Paris was read out in court.
Judge Eoin Garavan said the defendant appears to have ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ aspects to his character.
“This was exploitation of a very high nature,” the judge remarked. “For some strange reason he was attracted to his poor unfortunate victim."
The judge imposed a four-and-a-half-year jail term, suspending the final 18 months.
Judge Garavan praised the injured party for her bravery in coming forward some 20 years later, noting that the defendant must now face up to the consequences of his actions.
“If you committed an offence the passage of time does not change things considerably," he said.
- Published as part of the Court Reporting Scheme.
