Galway Bay fm newsroom - A Galway court has deferred the sentencing hearing of a 44-year-old father who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting his six-year-old daughter’s friend during a sleep-over at his home.
The man, who cannot be named to protect the child’s identity, pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting the six-year-old victim on the night of October 26th, 2015 at a house in the west.
He initially appeared before Galway Circuit Criminal Court last October, but sentence had originally been adjourned to this week for the preparation of reports.
The girl’s father said in his victim impact statement that the accused had shown their daughter no sympathy or mercy during the 30-minute ordeal.
The little girl had been at a children’s Hallowe’en party in the man’s home and was allowed to sleep over with her best friend.
The girls were asleep in bed that night when the accused got into the bed beside them, leaned over his own daughter and subjected the victim to a prolonged sexual assault.
Garda Paul Duffy said the little girl woke to find the man abusing her and she pretended to be asleep.
Mr John Kiely SC defending, said his client was remorseful, and the early plea had saved the child and her parents the trauma of a trial.
He said his client should be subjected to a full risk assessment before the court proceed to sentence him.
Judge Rory McCabe noted sexual assault carried a maximum of 14 years in prison -but placed the offence at the lower mid-range on the scale of gravity, meriting a three-year sentence.
He deferred finalisation of how that sentence would be structured to this time next year for the risk assessment to take place.
