Ex-Defence Forces member, 63, unmasked as ‘depraved paedophile' as he's jailed for sexual abuse of 2 young girls
Eddie Lillis was jailed for three and a half years at
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He was locked up after he denied sexually abusing two girls, aged between three and eight when he groomed and abused them in the 1980s.
Judge Colin Daly lifted a
Shortly after Lillis sexually assaulted his first victim, Girl A, she told her mother what happened and gave a formal statement to Gardai.
However, the Director of Public Prosecutions at the time directed there was not enough evidence to prosecute Lillis.
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Lillis went on to abuse Girl B, the court heard.
However, four decades later, in 2020, after Girl A made another complaint and gardai received a separate complaint from Lillis' second victim, cops reinvestigated the case and the DPP ordered Lillis to face trial.
Lillis pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.
Following his trial at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court he was convicted on four of the five charges, and the jury could not reach a decision on the fifth count.
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In her victim impact statement which she read in court, Girl A stated: 'If Eddie Lillis had been held accountable when I made my original complaint, (Girl B) may have avoided his depraved actions.
'My hope is that by making his crimes known to the public Eddie Lillis will never have the opportunity to harm another child.'
HOPE TO PROTECT OTHERS
Both women said they came forward to gardai to 'protect other little girls' from Lillis, or indeed, any other 'paedophile'.
They said they wanted to show 'other victims of historic sexual abuse that it is never too late to pursue justice'.
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Lillis, who was supported in court by some of his family said, through his barrister, that despite him having contested the trial, he accepted the jury's decision.
'HEINOUS' ACTS
Girl A stated that the 'heinous' sex acts carried out on her by Lillis changed her from being 'a carefree, innocent six-year-old little girl, to feeling confused and terrified'.
Girl A, who was sexually assaulted by Lillis a few days prior to her First Holy Communion, praised her parents 'who instantly believed me and brought me to make a statement to gardai'.
Girl B told the court that Lillis' sexual assaults on her had 'warped' her childhood, and that 'despite extensive and ongoing therapy, the psychological scars never go away'.
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She added that the abuse made her fearful for her own daughter and 'all little girls because of men like Edward Lillis', and that her fear for other children convinced her 'to come forward once and for all'.
NO REMORSE
Girl B said: 'He (Lillis) maintained his innocence and put my family and I through the further trauma of a trial, he has never shown a smidgeon of remorse.'
Neither victim wished to be identified but they said they supported the court lifting reporting restrictions on identifying Lillis.
Jailing Lillis, Judge Daly said the married father-of-three, 'took advantage' of his position of trust in the community 'to abuse the two children'.
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Eddie Lillis was jailed for three and a half years at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court today
Credit: Brendan Gleeson
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