Woman raped by her foster father awarded over €300,000 in damages by court
Stephen Murray, formerly of Humphreystown, Vallymount, Co Wicklow, was jailed for 11 years in 2022 after pleading guilty to multiple counts of rape, oral rape and sexual assault of Kelly Kemmy.
Advertisement
The offending occurred between February 2009 and December 2015, when Ms Kemmy was aged between 11 and 18 years old.
Ms Kemmy (27), who waived her right to anonymity following Murray's sentencing, subsequently issued civil proceedings against Murray and Tusla, who had placed her in her abuser's care.
Ms Kemmy's claim against Tusla, which sought damages for negligence for placing her in the care of Murray, was later settled for €250,000.
In February 2024, Mr Justice Paul Coffey ruled in favour of Ms Kemmy in her claim against Murray, which sought damages for personal injuries, and rape, sexual assault, assault, battery, false imprisonment and trespass to the person.
Advertisement
Murray did not participate in the proceedings, and judgment was made against him in default of appearance.
In a judgment handed down on Wednesday, Ms Justice Emily Egan ruled Ms Kemmy should receive damages of €328,000 from Murray.
Ms Justice Egan, who characterised the nature and severity of abuse suffered by Ms Kemmy as a 'worst case scenario', said Ms Kemmy should be awarded €578,000 in general and special damages arising from her action against Murray.
However, the judge ruled that Tusla and Murray were 'concurrent wrongdoers' in the case, and as such, the €250,000 settlement with Tusla should be deducted from the total award.
Advertisement
'[Ms Kemmy] suffered damage as a result of the tortious and criminal actions of Murray and that damage was not prevented, interrupted or ameliorated by Tusla, as it ought to have been,' the judge said.
An award of €450,000 in general damages reflects 'the nature, severity, timing and duration of abuse and the severity of the injury' toMs Kemmy, Ms Justice Egan said. This award is greater than damages previously awarded for other child sexual abuse cases, the judge said.
The judge noted the current upper limit for awards of general damages in personal injuries cases is €550,000.
The €128,000 awarded in special damages arises primarily from Ms Kemmy's claims of loss of earnings.
Advertisement
Referring to Ms Kemmy's evidence in the civil case, Ms Justice Egan noted that it is estimated she suffered hundreds of separate incidents of rape, occurring three to four times a week.
Murray's abuse of Ms Kemmy began when she was 11 years old, some seven years after she and two of her siblings were fostered by Murray and his wife.
'For years, [Ms Kemmy's] dignity and autonomy were taken from her, causing her to suffer humiliation, frustration, helplessness, loneliness and despair,' the judge said.
It was Ms Kemmy's evidence that Murray told her the abuse was normal but secret, and if she told anyone, 'it would ruin the family', the judge noted.
Advertisement
Ms Kemmy said she felt trapped, helpless and frightened, and that her shame was so overwhelming she felt she had no one to turn to for help, the judge said.
Ms Kemmy reported Murray's abuse to An Garda Síochána in July 2019. After this, she was rendered effectively homeless, and her relationship with her two siblings was 'devastated', the judge noted.
Murray would later plead guilty to 14 counts of rape, two counts of oral rape and one count of sexual assault.
Ms Kemmy continues to suffer with post-traumatic stress disorder, the judge noted. The judge also said Ms Kenny is a resourceful and intelligent woman, keen to gain security for herself and her young child, and who has ambitions of becoming a social worker.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BreakingNews.ie
5 hours ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Former Irish sports figure accused of historical sexual abuse offences sent forward for trial
A former Irish sports figure, accused of historical sex abuse offences, was on Tuesday served with a book of evidence and sent forward for trial to the Central Criminal Court. The man, who cannot be named due to the nature of the charges, is in his 70s and faces 79 allegations relating to the sexual abuse of four girls in Ireland during the 1970s and 1980s. Advertisement Judge Michele Finan at Dublin District Court granted a return for trial order at the request of State solicitor Rory Staines. He told the court that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) consented to being sent forward on indictment on the 79 charges in the book of evidence served by Garda Sergeant Amy Kelly. They include 78 counts of indecent assault and one count of attempted rape. The offences allegedly occurred at various locations in Co Dublin, including Dún Laoghaire, Killiney, and Blackrock, between 1971 and 1981. Advertisement At the time, the girls were minors aged between eight and 15. The man was extradited from the US last week. Judge Finan notified the man that he must inform the prosecution within 14 days if he intends to use an alibi in his trial. She also ordered investigating gardaí to provide copies of interview videos to the defence and told the accused that his lawyer would explain it to him later. Advertisement The man, who has not yet entered a plea, was remanded in continuing custody pending trial with no bail application made. Legal aid has been granted, with the defence stating that he is not working and has no assets. The judge noted that there was no Garda objection, and she agreed to a request by his solicitor, Tracy Horan, that it would include senior and junior counsel representation. The date for his next hearing before the Central Criminal Court has yet to be set but will be held the next legal term, commencing in October. Advertisement Dressed in a grey tracksuit and black runners, the man sat silently in a wheelchair and spoke only to consult with his solicitor, who asked that he get dental attention in custody, because he still had no dentures and "is not able to eat solid foods". Following extradition proceedings at the request of the Irish authorities, he was arrested at Terminal 2, Dublin Airport on the morning of July 22nd. Gardaí charged him at the instruction of the DPP. He faces 41 counts of indecent assault and one for attempted rape of one of the complainants, 34 counts of indecent assault of another female, two counts of indecent assault of another complainant, and one charge of indecent assault of the fourth. Advertisement The offences are contrary to Common Law. At his first hearing, a few hours after his arrest, the defence solicitor had informed the judge that her client required medical assistance in custody because he had no dentures or hearing aid, as they had not been brought over from the United States. The judge had noted this information and agreed to add that he should urgently get dentures and a hearing aid in custody. When the proceedings resumed yesterday/today, she heard that the man still had no dentures and recommended that he get the appropriate treatment.
The Guardian
5 hours ago
- The Guardian
‘It destroyed me': two more men accuse Christian rock star Michael Tait of sexual assault
Two more men have come forward to accuse Christian rock superstar and Maga firebrand Michael Tait of drugging and sexually assaulting them – including Jason Jones, the founding manager of the American hard-rock band Evanescence. Jones said he was fired from the band – which had ties to Tait – for speaking out about his alleged assault. Jones said the firing, which he claimed happened in 1999, cut him out of Evanescence's massive success beginning in 2003. 'It destroyed me,' said Jones. 'I was achieving my dreams at an early age, and Tait changed all that.' Evanescence co-founder Ben Moody denied Jones was fired from the band for speaking out against Tait. Moody said he does recall Jones telling him about a sexual encounter with Tait, but at the time Moody interpreted it as consensual. 'I was a kid, only 18, and clearly didn't realize what he was going through,' Moody said. 'I'm sure I missed a lot of things I'd recognize today. I didn't realize he was traumatized.' In all, eight alleged victims have now come forward publicly with sexual assault allegations against Tait. A previous investigation by the Guardian reported allegations of sexual assault by Tait against three young men while another from the Christian news outlet the Roys Report reported allegations by three other men. Tait became famous as the frontman for DC Talk and Newsboys, two Christian mega-bands known for packaging conservative rhetoric about sexual abstinence, sobriety, Christian nationalism and the coming rapture in catchy rock songs. Tait has been a supporter of Donald Trump and served as a key bridge between Trump and evangelical voters. Tait has not responded to questions from the Guardian about the allegations against him. But in an Instagram post in June, Tait confessed to a decades-long addiction to cocaine and alcohol and admitted that he had 'at times, touched men in an unwanted, sensual way'. In the post, Tait added that he had recently 'spent six weeks at a treatment center in Utah'. Jones was described by friends who knew him in the 1990s as a happy-go-lucky Christian teenager, bursting with ambition and creativity. Growing up in Arkansas, Jones remembers, one of his biggest dreams was 'to meet DC Talk'. Jones achieved that dream in 1994 after moving to Nashville to manage the band of his friend, Randall Crawford, who was also friends with Tait and introduced the two. Jones recalled going to McDonalds with the DC Talk frontman and being mobbed by so many teenage fans they had to leave before getting their food. 'That kind of thing happened a lot,' he said. Jones was thrilled to be welcomed into Tait's inner circle, yet he was taken aback by what he described as Tait's proclivity for randomly grabbing other men's genitals. He said he eventually learned that Tait was living a double-life as a closeted gay man, which was becoming a problem for a band mentored by Moral Majority co-founder Jerry Falwell, who called Aids 'God's punishment for homosexuality'. While surprised, Jones held no negative feelings toward Tait's sexuality, even taking him to gay clubs in Little Rock (at Tait's request) when DC Talk performed there. Jones was regularly traveling back and forth from Nashville to Little Rock, and in 1995 he met aspiring musician Moody – the two of them hitting it off and collaborating on a project that would come to be named Evanescence. After co-producing the first Evanescence demo, Jones returned to Nashville and began talking up the band to his friend, Tait. Jones, as an evangelical, was sober and a virgin at the time. But he recalls getting caught up in a whirlwind of partying with Tait in 1995, chain-smoking cigarettes and marijuana and closing down bars, then returning to Tait's house to continue drinking. Jones said he was uncomfortable with all of it, but was eager for Tait's approval so he complied. 'I had this band that I was trying to take places,' Jones recalled. 'And [Tait] had the power to open doors for us in the industry. So I went along with whatever, but didn't know what it would cost me.' Jones' used his connection with Tait to help Evanescence get a foot in the door in Nashville, speaking with A&R people, record labels, venue owners, producers and musicians. Sources that wish to remain anonymous alleged that Tait had a rotation of attractive young men at his Nashville home at this time, some of them underage, and that Tait had a 'no clothes allowed' rule in his hot tub. 'He would put his penis against one of the jets, and tell us to do the same, saying 'see, it feels good!'' recalled a source who visited Tait regularly at this time, and wishes to remain anonymous. 'He was all about the shock factor,' recalled Crawford, who was close with Jones and Tait throughout the 90s. 'He was always saying 'let's make out in front of these people!' And I was like 'no, you're gonna destroy your career.' But he felt untouchable. And in some ways, he was.' Around this same time, Crawford recalls Tait driving him through the campus of Liberty University – Falwell's Christian college where DC Talk formed – speeding at 60mph and getting pulled over by campus security, who turned from anger to laughter when seeing Tait behind the wheel, even asking for pictures and autographs. 'After they left, Michael turned to me, calm as ever, and said: 'I can do anything and not get in trouble.'' Jones recalls drinking at Tait's house one night in late 1998, just after DC Talk finished rehearsals for their Supernatural album tour. Jones remembers feeling tired suddenly, and Tait recommended he go to sleep in his bedroom. 'I felt honored that he felt that close to me, that he trusted me enough to let me sleep in his bed,' Jones said. Some time later, Jones recalls waking up, his pants missing, and Tait was giving him oral sex. 'I said no and pushed him off, but then, somehow, I passed out again. I woke back up and he was still doing it. I said no again, then nodded out. And then I woke up a third time, aggressively shouted 'no!' and pushed him harder. It was then that he left me alone.' Looking back, Jones said, 'I believe that Michael Tait drugged me.' Two alleged victims from the Guardian's previous report also say they believe they were drugged by Tait before their alleged assaults. In addition, a female accuser cited by the Roys Report said she believed that Tait supplied Rohypnol or some other sedative to a crew member on a Newsboys tour, who then drugged and raped her while Tait watched. Distraught and in need of comfort, Jones flew home to Little Rock the day after he said he was assaulted. There he confided in a friend and mentor – who wishes to remain anonymous – that he had had 'a bad experience with Tait,' but wouldn't go into details. 'He wasn't the same after that,' Jones's friend recalled. Jones said that in early 1999 he had also confided in his friend and Evanescence co-founder, Ben Moody, about being sexually assaulted by Tait. 'Ben was only 18 at the time, new to the music industry, and I wanted to warn him,' Jones recalled. '[Tait] was flying Ben out to Nashville to write songs together, to see if he fit in Tait's inner-circle.' Moody remembers things differently. 'He didn't frame it as 'sexual assault,'' Moody said. 'He described it as like frat-boy joking around while they were drunk, with [Tait] saying 'what's the big deal? A dick's just a muscle.' And Jason said 'the next thing I know he's sucking my dick.'' Jones said he remains confident that he told Moody the full details of the assault, including that he verbally and physically resisted Tait three times as his consciousness came and went. Moody said he soon noticed a change in Jones's demeanor. Jones, a passionate, fun-loving guy who was easy to get along with, began suffering manic swings from depression to rage to paranoia and then to dissociation. 'After a late night studio he couldn't get the car shifter into gear and he just started screaming, hurling his body around, jerking the shifter violently like he was going to break it off.' Moody said he and the band began wondering if they should continue working with Jones. In retrospect, Moody said: 'I didn't know what he was going through. Looking back I would've been a bit more attentive, but I was the typical 18 year old who wanted to be a rockstar.' Moody said that in a phone call with Tait, he mentioned that Jones had told him about a sexual encounter between them, which Tait then denied. 'I wanted to get ahead of [Jason] talking shit about us and ruining the whole thing. Back then there were rumors Michael Tait [was gay] and at that point, right after [DC Talk's Grammy-winning album] Jesus Freak, he was the biggest thing in Christian music history, and the scandal would've been a huge deal.' Jones and Moody differ on whether he was fired or quit, but both recall the incident with Tait – however it was characterized – as the turning point of the relationship. 'I hid away after that,' Jones recalls. 'I started snorting meth, then smoking it.' His isolation and drug binge would continue for five years. Moody said he regrets how things went down with Jones back then. 'He was my best friend for so many years, and now I ask myself 'how fucking blind could I have been?'' Evanescence went on to be one of the biggest bands in the world, winning 'Best New Artist' and 'Best Hard Rock Performance' at the Grammys in 2003 and eventually selling tens of millions of albums. The following year, Moody and Tait would go on to be roommates and musical collaborators, with Tait singing on Moody's solo album, and Moody producing Tait's solo album, Loveology. In 2003, Moody left Evanescence to pursue his solo career. Evanescence co-founder Amy Lee and other representatives of the band could not be reached for comment. Like Moody, Crawford remembers his friend Jones as a 'a happy guy, a real sweetheart, but all that changed after 1998. I could tell something had happened. He didn't tell me about it at the time, but he has since. And I believe him, because the same thing happened to me.' Crawford first met DC Talk when the band was filming the music video for its first single, Heavenbound, in 1989. Crawford was working in a movie theater in the same Nashville mall the band was filming in. He loved their debut cassette and when they came by to catch a movie he introduced himself and gave them a discount. Crawford remembers his friend Jason Jones getting squeezed out of the management position of Evanescence in early 1999, and that 'it had something to do with Tait', but was unaware of specifics at the time. Back then, Crawford was an ambitious musician, and was being hired to write songs for solo projects for Tait and DC Talk's Toby Mac (the band went on 'hiatus' in 2000, and never officially reunited). Mac's project was later nominated for a Grammy and Dove Award. Crawford had also just signed his own record deal for his band, Webster County. Crawford recalls being distraught over a breakup one night in the fall 2000, and Tait inviting him over to hang out. 'You'll bounce back,' he recalls Tait saying, as he handed him a shot glass of Makers Mark whiskey. 'I told him 'just one,' and took the shot,' he recalled. 'I had a pretty high tolerance for alcohol at the time, but I blacked out shortly after I took that one drink.' Crawford said his memory picks up some time later, finding himself propped up on Tait's kitchen counter, his pants around his ankles. 'My legs were up in the air, and Tait was licking my anus,' he claimed. 'I said 'what are you doing, dude?' and then he said the weirdest thing: 'Hey man, did you catch the Colts game last week?' Like we were just hanging out, chatting.' Crawford said that he fled Tait's house, but has no memory of driving home. He said he is convinced that Tait drugged him. Two close friends of Crawford's have corroborated his story. One of them confirmed that Crawford told him details of the alleged assault at the time, but only named the perpetrator two years ago. The other friend said he was told the whole story at the time. 'I was never the same after that,' Crawford said. 'The joy and drive I had for music went away. Suddenly I had stage fright for the first time, brain-fog, anger issues, depression, and was even suicidal for a time. It ruined my career.' Despite having finished recording the album for his band, Crawford felt unable to perform as a musician, and the record was never released. Both Jones and Crawford recall thinking their assaults were isolated incidents and continued to have some involvement with Tait. Jones accepted a phone call from him when Tait's father passed away and he was distraught, and Crawford says he was 'love bombed' by Tait and succumbed to future advances. After not speaking for years, Tait re-entered his life in 2020. Crawford's wife was a musician herself, and Tait had offered to produce her album. 'I had buried the memory of that night for a long time,' Crawford said. After seeing Tait again, Crawford said, a lot of feelings came to the surface and he found himself weeping uncontrollably in the shower. After confessing to his wife what had happened, she encouraged him to enroll in EMDR trauma therapy, which he said had been helpful. 'Hearing Jason's story recently broke my heart,' he said of reuniting with his friend, Jones, decades later. 'I believe we'd both be in the music industry today if it weren't for Michael Tait.' Jones has been sober since 2008. After leaving the music industry he worked in banking and co-directed a sober living facility. Today he travels around the country sharing his story of abuse and addiction (not mentioning Tait's name when recounting the experience). Shortly after getting sober Jones contacted a law firm to ask about potential compensation he could be owed from Evanescence. According to his 2008 correspondence with the law firm that he shared with the Guardian, the firm told him that, because of the statute of limitations, his window for a suit against Evanescence had closed years earlier. Jones said the lawyers told him that, had he pursued the matter sooner, he could be entitled to up to tens of millions of dollars in compensation. Moody disputed the notion that Jones has ever had the right to compensation for his management efforts in the early days of Evanescence. Looking back 27 years later, Jones recalled the night he told Moody about what had happened to him. Warning him not only about Tait, but about the music industry in general, he recited a quote from the magazine journalist Hunter S Thompson, who said: 'The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free.' 'And that's true for the Christian music industry as well,' Jones said. 'Even more so, in my case.'
The Sun
5 hours ago
- The Sun
I got spoofed and was forced to change my mobile number – it could happen to you too
IF you've ever been targeted by a scammer, you'll know it can be a scary and worrying experience. But has a fraudster ever pretended to be YOU, in order to trick people out of their hard-earned cash? 1 That's exactly what happened to me, when I discovered that my phone number had been "spoofed" and crooks were using it to try and scam people. It's a horrible form of identity fraud and a cunning way for fraudsters to attempt to steal cash or money from unsuspecting victims, as the number appears to be from a trusted source. It all started six months ago, when I started getting mysterious phone calls from strangers claiming that they'd has missed calls from me. But when I checked my call log each time, I could see that I never made the call to that number. I would tell the caller that they made a mistake, and hang up the phone. I was suspicious that these were scammers trying to lure me into handing over money in some way, so I made sure to block the numbers after I put the phone down. But the calls kept coming and each time I kept blocking the number. That was until last week, when I received a WhatsApp out of the blue from a lady I didn't know. "Hello, did you call me?" the text read. I usually don't message back when I get these sorts of WhatsApp messages, as I'm wary of scammers. But I was confused when the lady sent a screenshot of her call log - and surprisingly, my phone number was at the top of the list. I decided to message back, explaining that I didn't call her. I thanked her for flagging the missed call, and said I would look into what happened. After contacting my phone company, ID Mobile, I was told that the most likely explanation for what had happened was that my phone number had been spoofed. They said there wasn't much the company could do about my spoofed number, although I had the option to change my phone number, which would cost £25. I was also told to report the issue to Action Fraud. The thought of a scammer using my number and pretending to be me to con money out of innocent people made me sick to my stomach. So I decided to bite the bullet, swallow the £25 charge, and put the experience behind me. Even better, I've not had a single scam call or text since I switched my number - before, I used to get at least one a week. However, there's nothing to stop my new number from being spoofed too. It's also been a massive inconvenience contacting all my friends, family, and organisations to let them know about my change of number. iD Mobile said: "We understand how frustrating it is for customers to receive calls from people claiming they've been contacted by them. "In this instance, it appears the number was spoofed — a common industry issue where fraudsters fake caller IDs without needing access to the number itself." I've been told that if I report it to Action Fraud, the £25 fee will be waived - which I'm planning on doing soon. Spoofing on the rise The main reason why scammers will spoof numbers is in order to target more victims without being caught up in something called the Do Not Originate (DNO) list. Ofcom and UK Finance launched the DNO list in 2019. Companies and organisations add to the list when a rogue number is reported, and this list is shared with telecoms providers to help them identify and block calls from these numbers. It's an effective tool in filtering through scam callers - but tech and cyber security expert David McClelland said scammers are exploiting a loophole. "Perhaps because of this DNO list - although it's difficult to say for sure - scammers are now also making calls that spoof individuals' mobile numbers," he said. Spoofing is becoming a big problem. The telcoms regulator, Ofcom, is so concerned about the growing threat of spoofing that it launched a consultation in July last year on how to address the issue. It said it was "concerned" that scam calls are coming from scammers who are spoofing UK mobile numbers. It said a call from a spoofed number could appear more trustworthy, and "victims are more likely to share personal information or to make a payment, which can lead to significant financial and emotional harm". It can therefore make it much easier for fraudsters to hunt down victims and steal their money. Some 5.7million Brits have been targeted by a mobile phone scammer more than 10 times, according to research from comparison site Uswitch. And an eye-watering £1.17billion was swiped by scammers in 2024 - roughly level to what was stolen in 2023. What can you do about spoofing? Worryingly, phone companies can't do a lot about spoofing, says Jake Moore from the cybersecurity firm ESET. "There's no solid bulletproof way to stop this sort of spoofing," he says. "However, it's a good idea to report it to Action Fraud and at extreme lengths, you can change your number. "This may be challenging for some people - but it will eradicate the problem if your phone number appears on a list that hackers delve into." My spoofing experience has been sobering, and has reminded me of the importance of remaining vigilant against scammers. Set your privacy settings to the highest level on your social media and messaging accounts. This is so people can't contact you or collect personal information about you - it's surprising how much we share on our accounts. Be wary of who you share your number with. "Try to reduce the amount of companies you give your phone number to," Jake said. "Most website forms will ask for it but not all of them will require it for the service or product to work. "By limiting where your number is divulged, it reduces the chance it will be breached." If you get a cold call, never rely on just using the caller ID as a way to verify who they say they are. It's worryingly easy for scammers to spoof a number. If someone says they are from your bank, then hang up and call the number on the back of your card, or through the mobile bank app. If someone says they are from an official organisation, like HMRC, hang up and look up the number to call back on the website. Being spoofed has made me realise the lengths that scammers will go to in order to trick you into handing over money. From now on, I'll be keeping a close eye on where I'm sharing my phone number. How to stop nuisance calls and texts FED up with scam texts and calls clogging up your phone? Take these steps to fight back. On iPhone, you can enable Silence Unknown Callers by going to Settings > Phone, scrolling down to Silence Unknown Callers, tapping the option, and turning on the feature. This will block phone numbers that are not in your contacts or that you have not contacted previously. On Android, open the Phone app, tap the three dots for more options, tap Settings then turn on Caller ID and spam protection. This uses a database of phone numbers to determine a caller's ID and filter out spam calls. Contact the Telephone Preference Service to add your landline or mobile number to the UK's official Do Not Call register and opt out of unsolicited communications. You can register your phone number on the TPS website or by phoning 0345 070 0707. Certain phone providers offer their own blocking services, some free and some paid for. Contact your provider to find out more.
