Galway Bay fm newsroom- A Galway man has been jailed for 5 years for sexually abusing his young niece.
The 31 year old man cannot be named to protect the identity of his victim, appeared before the Central Criminal Court where he admitted to the abuse.
The man pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting and sexually exploiting his niece at his home over a period of 3 years, starting when she 6 years old in 2013.
The court heard that the abuse started when the little girl visited her grandparents house, where her uncle also lived.
He would take his niece on walks and coax her into sexual acts and also go into her room when she would stay overnight for a sleepover at her grandparents.
The abuse came to light when the little girl told her cousin who convinced her to inform her mother.
In a Victim Impact Statement, the girl's mother said her daughter's childhood has been destroyed and her parents had disowned her and her daughter.
According to today's Irish Times, Justice Alex Owens said the man had manipulated a young child.
He also took into account that the man had been abused himself as a child and his limited intellectual ability.
The judge sentenced him to 6 years in prison with the final year suspended on condition the man stay away from children in person or online.
He must also be supervised for 4 years after his release from prison.
