Man who was just 11 when he sexually abusing learns his fate
A man who was aged 11 when he started engaging in sexual abuse 'destroyed' the life of his victim, a younger girl whom he abused over a seven year period, a court has heard.
Conal Sheridan (32), formerly of Hazelwood, Gorey, Co Wexford, pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to sample counts of sexual assault, oral rape and defilement of a child at various locations in the county on dates between 2004 and 2011. He was aged between 11 and 17 while his victim was aged between nine and 16.
The complainant in the case wished for Sheridan to be named but to maintain her own anonymity, the court heard. Sheridan has four previous convictions for minor road traffic and drug offences.
The abuse started with inappropriate touching and escalated to include digital penetration and oral rape, Sergeant Richard Fitzgerald told the court. It occurred in various secluded places in the neighbourhood.
Sheridan also told the girl to look up pornography and would send her inappropriate pictures and videos. The abuse ended in 2011 when the complainant was aged around 16. She went to gardaí in 2021 and Sheridan was arrested.
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In a victim impact statement which she read out in the court, the complainant said Sheridan 'literally destroyed my life'. She said the abuse led to her attempting to overdose on painkillers when she was still a child and that she tried to end her own life on multiple occasions after that.
She described difficulties with drugs and alcohol, along with severe mental health issues and complex PTSD. She noted that in a letter of apology to her by Sheridan, he said: 'We were very young when all this took place.'
'These are my final words to you,' the complainant said, addressing Sheridan directly. 'There was no 'we'. This was all you. You are the one who sexually abused, molested and groomed me. This was you, all you and will only ever be you.'
In his plea of mitigation, defence counsel Colman Cody SC said Sheridan is a 'damaged but remorseful individual'. He said Sheridan became a father at the age of 17 which 'evoked a positive response in him' and he went on to have another child with a subsequent partner.
He has a good work history and has worked in manual labour, construction and sanitation services roles.
Mr Cody submitted that Sheridan would be entitled to a reduction in sentence, given that he was a child for the duration of the offending.
Sentencing him today, Mr Justice Paul McDermott said the woman properly laid the blame at the door of Sheridan. He also noted the considerable damage the offending caused and continues to cause for the woman.
He said the abuse was committed over a period of time on a vulnerable young child. Mr Justice McDermott accepted that Sheridan was watching a lot of pornography at the time.
He said it was 'another case where pornography features' in that it was being accessed by a young boy, adding that pornography was 'a significant factor in why the offences came to be committed'.
He imposed concurrent terms of seven years in prison before he suspended the final 18 months for two years on strict conditions including that Sheridan engage with any treatment programmes as recommended by the Probation Service.
Mr Justice McDermott also ordered that Sheridan have no contact either directly or indirectly with the woman.
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