The offending started in October 2012 when O’Neill was aged 17
Central Criminal Court Dublin
A woman who was orally raped when she was a child has said she refuses to “remain silent” any more about the abuse.
Noel O’Neill (30) was convicted after a trial at the Central Criminal Court of three counts of raping the child when she aged between six and 12 years old by putting his penis into her mouth.
The offending started in October 2012 when O’Neill was aged 17. He was over 18 when he raped her a second time and the final offence took place in October 2018 when he was aged 22.
O’Neill, of Castlekeely Lawn, Daingean, Co Offaly had pleaded not guilty to the three offences, which were committed at his former family home in Edenderry, Co Offaly. He was found guilty of the three offences after a trial in January.
In her victim impact statement, the victim, now aged 19, told the court that she was waiving her anonymity so that O’Neill, who was her step-uncle, could be identified.
“I refuse to remain silent anymore,” she stated.
At a sentence hearing on Monday, Ms Justice Eileen Creedon noted the impact of the abuse on the victim, including a diagnosis of PTSD and set a headline sentence of 11 years.
She reduced it by one year to take into consideration mitigating factors including the absence of significant previous convictions, and that the fact that O’Neill was acting as “the sole provider” to his family.
She suspended the final year on various conditions including that O’Neill keep the peace for the entirety of that period.
She ordered that he be registered as a sex offender. O’Neill has not acknowledged the verdict of the jury and has never offered any apology, the court heard.
In her statement, read into court by prosecuting counsel Fionnuala O’Sullivan SC, the woman said that what O’Neill did took her innocence away and lived on in her mind every day.
She said his refusal to own up to what he did “broke me even further”.
“The court process traumatised me. Being forced to relive the worst moments of my life; it felt like being abused again.
“I felt small and vulnerable,” she said. She said there were times that she felt that “ending my life would be easier” than going on with the trial.
She said the abuse changed who she was, and she struggles every day with its effects.
“The damage isn’t visible, but it is constant. I feel empty, mentally the scars will never fade.
“I struggle every day, I can barely leave my bed. I am scared of relationships, I am scared of the future,” she said.
Garda Tara Corrigan told the court that the victim first disclosed the sexual assaults in 2021 to her mother, who was married to O’Neill’s older brother.
The court heard that O’Neill would get the victim to play a game called “guess the finger” where he would put a hat on her head and over her eyes and tell her he was going to put his fingers in her mouth.
O’Neill would initially put fingers into her mouth but at some point, he would place his penis into her mouth. On the last occasion in 2018, the victim was able to see through the material of the hat and saw what O’Neill was doing.
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Ms O’Sullivan told the court that the victim’s evidence was that these games took place “every second Sunday for a few years”. During the trial O’Neill gave evidence before the jury during which he denied the allegations.
Barry Ward SC, defending, asked the court to take into consideration as mitigating factors his client’s young age at the time, his lack of any other criminal offending and his good history of employment.
A reference from the defendant’s employers, which described him as trustworthy and well-mannered, was handed into court on his behalf. Mr Ward said there is evidence that the offences carried out by his client were an aberration.
Speaking outside of court the victim said she wanted to thank everyone who has supported her through the legal process, especially Garda Tara Corrigan and the charity One in Four.
“Between all of these people, I don’t know how I would be standing here in front of you without them.
“I want to raise awareness that CAMHS and Tulsa were not much help.
“CAMHS told me while I was in their care I could not talk about the abuse, so if that was my main problem how am I supposed to heal without talking to people about it?
“When I was 17, I tried to take my life nearly every second week but as I wasn’t under paediatrics because I was over 16 and the adult ward couldn’t take me.
“My family was left to deal with me staying up in the night to keep me safe from myself, I was promised help when I transferred to a centre in Offaly.
“Court is a horrific experience – reliving everything. And even when you’re through it you have to listen to letters of recommendation of how “good” of a person they are.
“It shows who they are if they continue to lie and not acknowledge the damage they have done to somebody and re-traumatise them by bringing them through a trial”.
She said she hoped her story might give other child abuse victims the courage to come forward.
“This has been huge for me. It has changed my life. I struggle with my mental health but I said to myself if my story can help one other person I’ll feel like this bad situation made a difference to someone else.
If you’re going through something like this I want you to know you’re not alone. Tell somebody – just know you will be believed and you’re so strong. You might not even realise it but you are.
“I hope to in a few years to support people who went through things like me but until then I need to try heal so I can be better support for others.”
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