A MAN who sexually abused two young girls he was babysitting as a teenager has been jailed for four years and three months.
Kieran Meaney, of Hennessy Avenue, Kileely, County Limerick, was found guilty by a jury on 14 counts of indecently assaulting the two sisters when they were children on dates between August 1979 and August 1983.
He was also found guilty of one count of raping the older girl.
The Central Criminal Court heard that the victims wish for Mr Meaney to be named.
A local Garda detective told the court that the abuse started with the defendant, then in his teens, touching the children inappropriately and escalated to him having them remove their clothing. They were aged between six and 11 at the time.
Most of the offences were against the older sister, who was very protective of her younger sibling who didn’t understand what was happening, the court heard.
The abuse against the older girl escalated to him raping her on one occasion.
In a victim impact statement, the older sister said the defendant stole her innocence as a child and “took advantage of a young child, vulnerable in a house full of violence”.
She said she lived her whole life in fear as a result of the abuse and the memories of what he did are still “vivid”.
“I hate you for putting me through this court case and I hate you for saying I lied,” she said.
“I hate you for bringing me back to that little girl in the sitting room, being sexually abused for your sick pleasure.
“You are nothing short of a monster. You have shown no remorse and I hope whatever sentence you get, your life is made hell.”
In her victim impact statement, the younger sister told her abuser: “I hope you have time to think about the trust you broke.”
Mark Nicholas SC, defending, said his client was a minor at the time of the offending. His client has no previous convictions, a long work history, and has not come to recent negative garda attention.
Imposing sentence, Mr Justice Kerida Naidoo noted the age disparity between Mr Meaney and the two victims, the girls’ young ages at the time, and the breach of trust involved.
He set an aggregate headline sentence of 10 years and three months, to reflect the offending against both victims.
The judge noted that the court had to take into account the fact that Meaney was a juvenile himself at the time of his offending and reduced the headline sentence to five years and six months.
Having considered Meaney’s long work history, lack of previous convictions, and personal circumstances, the judge imposed an effective global sentence of four years and three months.
by Isabel Hayes and Eimear Dodd
