27-05-2025
Woman pleads guilty to child cruelty in connection to sexual abuse case
A 59-year-old woman has pleaded guilty to child cruelty in connection with sexual abuse, which was perpetrated by her partner on their daughter, over a 13-year period.
She entered the plea to two breaches of the 1908 Children Act at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court.
The offences took place at a house in the west in 1995 and 2000.
The victim's father is serving an 18-year jail sentence, after pleading guilty to charges including indecent assault, sexual assault and rape, on dates between 1988 and 2001, starting when she was just three years old.
The court heard the abuse perpetrated "was prolific in its frequency" and took place in several rooms in the family home.
The State argued that, based on the knowledge the accused had about the abuse, she had failed in her duty to protect her daughter. This meant the victim had been exposed to sexual abuse on an almost daily basis.
The woman pleaded guilty to two counts of cruelty to a child, on a full facts basis, when the case came before Judge Sinéad McMullan today.
Inspector Thomasina McHugh outlined a timeline of the abuse, telling the court that the victim believed her mother was aware of what was going on, when she was eight years old.
She detailed how the victim remembered her mother returning home one evening, while her father was abusing her on a couch in the sitting room.
Abuse became 'rougher', court told
He was said to have been startled by the accused's unexpected arrival, which was followed by an argument.
The court heard that the victim presented to hospital on several occasions between 1995 and 2000 and that the abuse became "rougher" as she grew older.
Her parents were interviewed after a friend witnessed a sexual assault in September 1998 but no charges were brought.
In early 2001, the victim told a neighbour that she was being abused by her father. On hearing this, her mother told her that if the complaint proceeded, the family would be broken up and her siblings would be taken into care. As a result, the victim withdrew her complaint.
In her statement to gardaí, the victim outlined how she had attempted to tell her mother about the abuse.
"She didn't believe me, when I was brave enough to say he was abusing me", she said.
The abuser has been convicted of the sexual abuse of several other children.
During the course of the investigations into the abuse perpetrated by the man, his wife refused to make a statement when requested by gardaí.
When she was initially arrested in 2019, she denied that she was aware of the abuse but subsequently conceded she had been told of the crimes by the victim's friend and the neighbour.
Judge McMullan acceded to a request by Des Dockery SC, for the accused, that legal aid be extended to cover a psychologist's report on his client. A probation and welfare report will also be completed.
The woman has been remanded on continuing bail and will be sentenced at a later date.
