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A father who sexually abused his young daughter more than 25 years ago has been jailed for 18 months.
The sentencing judge commended Ms. Jennifer Lydon McElwaine for her “strength and courage” in coming forward to file a complaint against her father because of her concern for other children.
Raymond McElwaine (68) of Silverwood Road, Rathfarnham, Dublin pleaded guilty to eight counts of showing indecent assault and sexual assault of his daughter at the former family home on the Balrothery Estate between June 1988 and December 1994.
Ms. Lydon McElwaine, who was between the ages of six and 11 when she was abused, waived her right to anonymity so that her father could be named.
In his victim impact statement, he described how the sexual abuse perpetrated by his father continued to affect all aspects of his life: “It is a cancer that I fight every day.”
She described how after she had first spoken when she was six about what was happening, her mother had been very upset and her father had cried and begged that it was a mistake and a misunderstanding. She described the fear and shame and how lonely and scared she had felt.
She said the detrimental effect of not being heard and validated when she was little was enormous.
She described how her father controlled everything in the house and now understood how her late mother had been controlled and manipulated by her father as she had been.
Ms Lydon McElwaine told the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court that when she later came forward as an adult to reveal the abuse to her family due to her concerns about the children, her father had hinted that she was making it up.
“My father cried and manipulated his way out of it,” she said, describing her devastation at how relationships within the family had suffered as a result.
She said her father had not shown any remorse and had not taken responsibility for his actions.
“I never wanted this, all I wanted was for my father to acknowledge what he had done,” he said.
Ms. Lydon McElwaine said that her father was meant to protect her, but instead used her for his own sexual gratification. “The only person my father protected was himself.”
“The crime is not mine, but they have left me a cross for the rest of my life,” he told Judge Karen O’Connor, “Child sexual abuse is a life sentence.”
Ms. Lydon McElwaine expressed her appreciation for prosecuting Garda Sgt Gearoid O’Brien.
Judge O’Connor told her that the strength and courage of her six-year-old self when speaking had been a sign of great inner strength and courage that she had clearly retained throughout her life.
He said that despite going through his mother’s grief, he still had the strength to speak out in an effort to protect other children, which showed great courage and concern for others.
Judge O’Connor told her that she deserved “to be proud of having the strength to do what she has done.” She said she hoped the relationships within the family could be repaired.
In sentencing, Judge O’Connor said aggravating factors included the expected breach of trust between a father and daughter and a breach of a dominant position. He noted that Ms. Lydon McElwaine was very young and that the formative years were very important in the life of a child.
She took into account that the accused was of good character, was a good worker and provider for his family and had various health problems.
He said that the nature of the crime was at the lower end of the scale for this court. She noted that she was at low risk of any type of recidivism.
He imposed consecutive sentences totaling two and a half years and suspended the final year.
At the original sentencing hearing last July, the court heard that McElwaine admitted the abuse during an interview with the Garda and said he regretted calling his daughter a liar.
Michael O’Higgins SC, in defense, said his client apologized for his actions. He said this was a “very dark day” for McElwaine, who had to sit back and listen to the deep and long-lasting effects of the abuse on his daughter.
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