A sentencing hearing took place in February and the case was adjourned to allow the defendant to sit his Leaving Certificate exams.
She noted that the aggravating features included the victim’s young age when the abuse started, its duration and that it took place in her home, which should have been a place of safety for her. She said there had been a breach of trust, and that the victim had suffered a “criminal breach of her right to bodily autonomy”.
She said if the defendant was an adult, she would set a headline sentence of five years, reduced to four years when the mitigation was taken into account.
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