A 61-year-old Limerick man has been jailed for 15 years for the rape and sexual assault of his niece.
The Central Criminal Court today heard that victim Sonya Stokes - now aged 37 - was waiving her right to anonymity.
In a victim impact report - read to the court - she said Joseph Hogan of Rose Court, Keyes Park in Limerick City - had stolen her “innocence, her childhood and her trust in relationships”.
61-year-old Joseph Hogan was last month convicted of one count of attempted rape, three counts of rape and three counts of indecent assault at a house in Limerick between December 1984 and 1988.
Senior Counsel Paul Greene today told the Central Criminal Court that the victim Sonya Stokes - who was aged 7 at the time of the first assault - was waiving her entitlement to anonymity.
The court heard a statement on behalf of Ms Stokes - who said Hogan had stolen her childhood, her innocence, her trust in relationships from her.
Ms Stokes says she suffers flashbacks and anxiety as a result of the abuse - and said the guilty verdict delivered against Hogan was ‘like a tonne of bricks lifted from my heart’.
Imposing the sentence, Mr Justice Paul Carney said the rape offence ‘merited’ 15 years in jail - with sentences for attempted rape and sexual assault running concurrently.
Mr Justice Carney said he found “nothing of substance in favour of Hogan” to allow him to discount the sentence.
