A “predatory” pensioner who repeatedly abused his granddaughter from when she was six has had his jail term more than doubled after the State successfully objected to the undue leniency of his original four-year sentence.
Delivering judgement at the three-judge court on Friday, Mr Justice Michael MacGrath jailed the defendant for nine years, saying the offending involved was “grave” and was “as close as might be” to attempted rape.
The judge noted the offences had involved sexual assault that included attempted penetration of the complainant when she was between eight and nine years of age by her grandfather.
The 77-year-old Wicklow man had pleaded not guilty to five counts of sexual assault in various locations on dates between October 2007 and November 2014, when the girl was aged between six and 13.
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He was convicted by a jury at Wicklow Circuit Court sitting in Bray and was sentenced to five years in prison with the final 12 months suspended by Judge James McCourt on June 17th, 2024.
The Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) had applied for a review of the sentence imposed on the grounds that it was too low.
Mr Justice MacGrath said the court agreed with the DPP that both the headline sentence and the final term of imprisonment imposed were unduly lenient and amounted to an error in principle. The maximum sentence applicable was 14 years.
Mr Justice MacGrath said the trial judge, when imposing sentence, had noted the matter lay within the medium to high range but thereafter proceeded to set a headline sentence of five years. He said this appeared to be “at odds” with the assessment of the gravity of the offending. He said the court was satisfied the offending was “grave” and could be described as being “as close as might be” to attempted rape.
The abuse was “predatory and repetitive” and involved a significant breach of trust between a grandfather and his young grandchild.
The headline sentence set was “too low” and did not reflect “the culpability of the accused or the harm to the victim”, Mr Justice MacGrath said, before noting this had a “knock-on” effect on the sentence imposed, rendering it unduly lenient.
Quashing the original term, Mr Justice MacGrath said the court would set a new headline sentence of 11 years.
He said there was very little mitigation available in terms of “remorse or acceptance”, noting the victim was required to give evidence and “relive her experiences”.
However, he noted the man’s lack of previous convictions and the pro-social life he has lived between the time of offending and the trial. He noted the court had to have regard to the fact the respondent was entering prison for the first time at an advanced age, his medical issues and the fact he would be well into his 80s when released.
He said the appropriate reduction was two years. “We believe this is a generous assessment of mitigation,” said the judge.
“We are also satisfied there is a lack of any evidential basis that any portion of this sentence should be suspended,” the judge added, referencing a probation report which noted the man continued to demonstrate a lack of remorse or empathy for his victim.
Mr Justice MacGrath said the court had approached sentencing on a global basis, with a concurrent sentence of nine years imposed on each count backdated to when the man first went into custody.
