He stole my whole youth... I’ve suffered all of my life
Daughter waives right to anonymity as father jailed for 12 years of sex abuse
A MAN who sexually abused and raped his daughter over a 12-year period has been jailed for 11-and-a-half years.
Patrick Honan, 70, was found guilty following a Central Criminal Court trial in February of 48 sample counts, including 25 of rape and 23 of indecent assault.
The victim, Noreen Honan, has waived her right to anonymity, to allow her father to be named.
The abuse took place at the family home of Lake View, Doonbeg, Co. Clare, between 1977 and 1989, when she was aged between three-and-a-half and 16.
Honan, of Lake View, Doonbeg, Kilrush, Co. Clare, does not accept the verdict and maintains his innocence, the court was previously told.
Yesterday, Judge Siobhán Lankford imposed a 13-year custodial sentence, with 18 months suspended. She also directed Honan not to approach his victim at any time now or into the future.
The judge said she would take indecent assault charges into consideration, noting that they are ‘part of a continuing pattern of abuse which occurred in the context of the rape allegations’.
She backdated the sentence to the date Honan entered custody.
In a statement read outside the Criminal Courts of Justice yesterday, Ms Honan said: ‘My father is Patrick Honan, he raped and sexually abused me from the age of three to 16 in our family home.
‘He stole my whole youth. I have suffered mentally and physically all my life because of the abuse.
‘It was only in 2017 that I became strong enough to face what he did to me.
‘I built up the courage to take the first step; I would like to encourage all victims of sexual violence to take the first step and come forward’.
Imposing sentence yesterday, Judge Lankford noted the prolonged period of abuse, the ‘enormous’ breach of trust and the age disparity.
She said the offending occurred in the victim’s family home, where ‘she was entitled to feel safe’, and the abuse was at the ‘hands of someone who had a duty to protect and nurture her’.
The judge said she took Honan’s personal circumstances and the mitigation into consideration, including his age, health issues and work history.
At a previous hearing, Colman Cody, defending, asked the court to make an order that Honan’s anonymity be maintained, notwithstanding the victim’s wishes, due to the ‘collateral impact’ on the wider family.
He said several family members are ‘very concerned’ as they have the same name as the accused.
Judge Lankford agreed to consider the defence’s application on the last date and directed that neither Honan nor the victim could be named in media reports until the case was finalised.
Yesterday, the defence repeated the application for reporting restrictions to be extended and suggested that naming Honan would have a ‘detrimental effect’ on the wider family, particularly ‘his grandchildren’, because the family reside in a rural area.
Judge Lankford said she had considered the issue, but could not accede to the defence’s application.
She noted the jury’s guilty verdicts and that Ms Honan had indicated a wish to waive her right to anonymity.
The judge said there is ‘no question of anonymity attaching to the accused from today’s date’.
Addressing the victim, Judge Lankford said Ms Honan had behaved in a ‘dignified’ manner throughout the trial process and commended her bravery.
At an earlier court hearing, a local garda told Dean Kelly, prosecuting, that the victim recalled the first incident took place when she was approximately threeand-a-half years old.
The court heard the abuse continued frequently. Honan would abuse his daughter on Sunday mornings when she came into her parents’ bedroom.
This pattern of abuse ended in 1981 when the victim stopped going to her parents’ bedroom on Sunday mornings.
Honan often abused his daughter on Saturday evenings while her mother was at work. The court heard that the abuse would involve either rape or oral sex.
As she became a teenager and took part in more activities, she was better able to resist and there were also less opportunities for Honan to sexually abuse her.
The final incident of rape occurred when she was 16.
The victim made a complaint to gardaí in 2019.
Honan was arrested in July 2020 and when interviewed, he denied the allegations.
The investigating garda said Honan answered some questions and made comments which cast
‘Take the fist step and come forward’
He ‘cast aspersions’ on her character
aspersions on his daughter’s lifestyle and character.
A victim impact statement was read to the court by Mr Kelly.
Ms Honan said she didn’t want to see her father prosecuted, but wanted him to take responsibility for his actions.
She also said that his lack of acceptance has hurt her as much as the abuse.
In his plea of mitigation, Mr Cody said Honan was facing the prospect of spending the rest of his life in prison and that he has been left a ‘broken man’ as a result of these convictions.
Honan has support from his family, and his sons were in court to support him.
Several testimonials were handed in on his behalf. Honan became tearful when his counsel read from a testimonial which referred to his grandchildren.