No jail for abuser, 86, over sibling sex assaults
Custodial sentence ‘not appropriate’
A FORMER farm labourer has received an eight-year suspended jail term for sexually abusing two siblings and raping one more than six decades ago.
John Joe Kiernan, 86, repeatedly abused the brother and sister when they were aged between four and ten.
He raped the girl in her bedroom and threatened to ‘bury you with all the other bones’ after another attack, the Central Criminal Court heard.
Mr Justice Michael White said that if Kiernan was a younger man the court would imposed a serious custodial sentence but, given his age and ill-health, he did not think it was appropriate to jail him.
Kiernan, of Forthill, Arva, Co. Cavan, pleaded guilty to 11 sample counts of indecent assault and one count of rape between 1958 and 1963.
All the offending took place on or near the victims’ family farmland in Arva where Kiernan worked as a labourer. Mr Justice White imposed terms of eight years for the rape and seven years for the indecent assaults – but suspended them on condition Kiernan keep the peace.
The judge said the court’s function was not to exact revenge but to protect society and deal with victims and rehabilitation.
He added it was not appropriate to impose a custodial sentence after hearing Kiernan is in chronic ill-health, and suffers from heart disease, osteoarthritis, obstructive pulmonary lung disease and diabetes.
Mr Justice White stated the abuser is confined to his home due to his ill-health and needs ongoing care from his wife.
He noted that Kiernan had served a five-year sentence imposed in 2005 for sexual and indecent assaults, carried out between 1963 and 1973 against three boys and one girl and is alienated from his own children.
The judge said he accepted Kiernan was remorseful even though he had initially tried to minimise the seriousness of the offences.
At the sentencing hearing, Mr Justice White praised the ‘unbelievable courage’ of the victims for going to gardaí last year.
Prosecutor Monica Lawlor told the court that the siblings, who are now in their 60s, wanted Kiernan’s name to be published.
The hearing was told Kiernan regularly abused his victims, and would ply them with whiskey and chocolate.
In victim impact statements, the sister said Kiernan had shattered her childhood innocence and damaged the safety of her family home. Her brother, who Kiernan orally raped on fishing trips, described feeling shock and horror when he found out his sister had been abused too.
During sentencing, Mr Justice White said he wanted to salute the complainants for coming forward at this point in time.
He added the crimes took place ‘at a time in Ireland when nobody talked about these things’.