The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
A Clare man has received a sentence of three years imprisonment for the sexual assault of an eight-year-old girl during a sleep over.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is already serving a term of 15 years imprisonment for the abuse of a female relative. In that case he began regularly raping the child in his own flat from when she was aged nine.
Last month the 49-year-old was convicted by a jury after a trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court of the sexual assault of a girl during a sleepover with other children at his home on November 11, 2005. He had denied the charge.
On Friday last, Keith Spencer BL, defending, told Judge Patricia Ryan that the man did not accept the verdict of the jury and would appeal the conviction.
The man has 41 previous convictions, which include the convictions of sexual assault and rape from the Central Criminal Court earlier this year.
The court heard that during the children’s sleepover the man had grabbed the child while she was away from the others and sexually molested her. Afterwards she asked if she could call her mother and he said no.
In a victim impact report read into court by the investigating garda, the victim said she was glad that she could finally put the incident behind her.
Judge Ryan imposed a three year sentence to date from last month. The sentence will run concurrent to the sentence he is already serving.
By Declan Brennan
