Man jailed for 16 months for sex assault of minor in Kerry

A 22-year-old Kenmare man has been jailed for 16 months for having sex with a female under the age of 15 with whom he had a relationship when both were teenagers.

At Tralee Circuit Criminal Court last May, Marcin Kaczmarek of Lodgewood, Kenmare pleaded guilty to two counts of defilement and one of sexual assault: sexual assault of a female under the age of 15, involving digital penetration of her vagina on January 4; defilement on January 19 by engaging in oral sex; and a further count of defilement between January and March, by engaging in sexual intercourse, all at a sports pitch in Kerry in 2014.

Details of the relationship, including regular sexual intercourse between the then 19 year old Mr Kacamarek and the 14-year-old girl, were revealed when the girl’s father read her secret diary.

During the case, it emerged that contact between the two began on Facebook in July 2013. They began having regular contact through social media and mobile phone and met face to face with other people.

In October 2013, he gave her the gift of a necklace and he friendship continued and there was regular contact.

In early 2014 a sexual relationship began, including encounters at night in the open air. The relationship came to light when the girl’s father, concerned about a deterioration in her behaviour, read her diary and alerted gardaí and social services.

At the sentencing hearing, Judge John Hannan said al- though both were teenagers and in a relationship, the ‘gulf’ in years between them was great.

He referred to the victim impact statement by the now 17-year-old woman, who said she was ‘emotionally scarred’ and had been ‘physically and mentally ill’ as a result.

While saying there was ‘no evidence of predatory behaviour and no evidence of grooming,’ the judge said the relationship was ‘inappropriate’ and that the girl clearly ‘had been harmed.’

The judge noted Mr Kaczmarek’s guilty plea, his previous clean record and the fact that he had been assessed as having a very low risk of re-offending and sentenced him to four years in prison, suspending 32 months. He will also be placed on the sex offenders register for a period of 10 years.