A man who was found guilty of a number of sexual assault charges has been jailed for five years and six months following a sitting of Longford Circuit Court this morning.
Michael King, aged 52, of Warren View, Boyle, Co Roscommon, faced a lengthy trial in Roscommon Circuit Court earlier this year, where 12 jurors unanimously found him guilty of 12 separate sexual assault charges on various dates between December 2004 and September 2005.
Those included six counts of kissing, one count of putting the victim's hand on his knee, two counts of touching her inappropriately, two counts of putting her hand on him and one count of performing oral sex on her.
The victim in the case waived her right to anonymity.
In a short letter read in court, Mr King said he was sorry for the "anguish and upset" he had caused to Tara Kelly, who was a teenager at the time of the offences. He also apologised to Ms Kelly's parents and family.
"It was never my intent to make you feel the way you feel. I'm so sorry for the pain you've been feeling over the years," he said.
Letters read out by various members of Mr King's family expressed shock at his offending and sorrow at the distress caused to Ms Kelly.
Defending barrister, Ms Dara Foynes told Judge Kenneth Connolly that her client "has blighted the lives of his six children".
"And he has blighted the two families who used to be very close," she added.
Judge Connolly noted that the maximum applicable sentence in respect of each count on the indictment is 14 years imprisonment.
This was a "horrific case" and a "tragic case", he said, but what struck him was "the sheer radius of destruction that occurred", with the effect of Mr King's offending having "a particularly far reach" due to the closeness of the families, both personally and geographically.
"There was a very close bond and this was a severe breach of trust," said Judge Connolly.
"There was such a radius of destruction caused by the sinister and selfish acts of Mr King. These were deliberate acts for an adult that should have known better.
"He has destroyed many lives, particularly for Tara Kelly and the wider Kelly family, as well as the King family."
Judge Connolly noted that there was no plea of guilty to any of the 12 charges on the indictment.
"I am not allowed to take that as an aggravating factor," he said, "but in this nature of case, obviously a plea of guilty would attract significant mitigation because it relieves the victim of the stress of a trial.
"Unfortunately, therefore, Tara Kelly had to go through her evidence and she was incredibly brave in coming forward and incredibly brave in giving her evidence."
He expressed his hope that Ms Kelly would find some comfort in the jury verdict delivered in March of this year.
"There were 12 counts on the indictment and there were 12 jurors and all unanimously believed Tara Kelly did not consent to any of these acts," he said, also commending Ms Kelly for the bravery of waiving her anonymity so that her assailant could be named.
Judge Connolly noted that Mr King's estranged wife had written a letter "beseeching me not to impose a custodial sentence, but the court's hands are tied".
Aggravating factors taken into account include "the sheer radius of destruction caused to the two families" and the "extreme breach of respect and breach of trust of a family member" while Mr King was entrusted with Ms Kelly's care.
He also considered the nature, extent and duration of the offending behaviour.
"Ms Foynes said the duration wasn't terribly long," he said, referring to mitigation put forward by Mr King's defence.
"That is difficult for a victim to hear because any duration of abuse is too long, whether it be a second, a minute, an hour, or in this case, nine months. I don't accept that 'only nine months' is a short period when we talk about abuse."
The abuse, he said, escalated "quite significantly, from kissing and touching to much more serious acts."
There was no remorse in the context of the probation report, he added.
"It does state that he recognises the pain he caused but there is no acknowledgement of guilt and no remorse throughout," said Judge Connolly.
Mitigating factors included the fact Mr King has no previous convictions and has not come to adverse garda attention since these offences.
Turning to sentencing, Judge Connolly noted each charge attracted a maximum sentence of 14 years.
"I'm of the view that the matter is much too serious to consider concurrent sentences and I intend to impose consecutive sentences," he said.
'I had to speak out'
Speaking to RTÉ News, Ms Kelly said she is satisfied with the outcome and relieved she does not have to go back to court again.
Ms Kelly said she is exhausted from the judicial process, which she said was "mentally and emotionally draining".
"I knew it was going to be hard and long, but there's so much you don't take into account. The delays, the breaks in between court sittings, all the waiting around. Every day you come home exhausted," she said.
Ms Kelly said she felt compelled to go to the gardaí because the past kept coming back to her.
"We were all so close as a family and I knew the destruction this would cause but I had to speak out," Ms Kelly said.
"I never thought I could do it, but you find it within yourself.
"By waiving my right to anonymity, I want to help people who might find it difficult to come forward and talk about sexual assault," she added.
"I feel a lot lighter and happier in myself. The past isn't going to change but hopefully I can move on".
Additional reporting: Sinéad Hussey
