A woman who was raped and sexually abused by her stepfather as a child has praised the dedication of the detective who worked on the case for over 25 years.<\/p>\n
Christina Hayes, 36, indicated that she wished to waive her right to anonymity to allow her stepfather, Tommy Barry, to be named in reporting of the case.<\/p>\n
Barry, aged 67, was jailed for 12-and-a-half years by Ms Justice Karen O\u2019Connor at the Central Criminal Court on Monday.<\/p>\n
Ms Hayes stated in her victim impact statement that now retired Detective Garda Maria Flynn \u201cnever stopped seeking justice on my behalf\u201d, praising the investigator\u2019s \u201cdedication and persistence\u201d.<\/p>\n
She further acknowledged her primary school teacher, who alerted authorities in early 1999, when the then seven-year-old girl filled out a worksheet during school which stated: \u201cI feel disappointed when my Da has sex with me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The teacher reported the incident to the HSE, the girl was moved from her family home to live with her grandparents, and garda\u00ed were alerted.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer actions helped to bring the truth to light,\u201d the woman stated, thanking her teacher for the support she gave her as a small child. \u201cI will always be forever grateful to her.”<\/p>\n
Barry, of St Judes Gardens, Dublin 1, denied any wrongdoing. He was convicted by a Central Criminal Court following a two-week trial in January this year of six sample counts of sexual assault and two sample counts of rape of the child when she was between six and seven years old on dates between 1996 and 1998.<\/p>\n
Ms Hayes said in her victim impact statement, described by the sentencing judge as \u201cone of the most eloquent victim impact statements I have ever received\u201d, how she suffered from depression and anxiety, how her mental health suffered, and her relationships with men were impacted.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe abuse affected my sense of self-worth, how I saw myself, and how I let others treat me. It influenced the choices I made,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She said she has worked hard to build a life for herself and her daughter, stating that she is determined to protect her child and to ensure \u201cshe grows up safe and valued\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI lost the person I could have been without the world of abuse and the ripple effects,\u201d she said, outlining the lifelong consequences has endured and how she has carried the weight of shame, fear, and anger.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe child I once was deserves to be heard. A child who had no voice and could not protect herself. I am speaking for that little girl who was robbed of her potential,\u201d Ms Hayes said.<\/p>\n
She said she finds it \u201cdeeply painful\u201d that Barry has shown no remorse even though he has had such a long time to reflect on his actions.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is as if the harm I suffered has been dismissed. No child should ever have to experience abuse from someone they trust,\u201d Ms Hayes said, adding that she still attends therapy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will not let if define who I am \u2014 I will be the best mother to be daughter and make sure that she will have the childhood I never had. It will be my life\u2019s mission to not let it define who I am,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Det Garda Flynn, who is now retired, told Eilis Brennan, prosecuting, that she first became involved in the case when a statement was taken from the child in April 1999. She initially made only allegations of sexual assault and did not tell officers that the man had also raped her.<\/p>\n
At the time Barry was serving a prison sentence and Det Garda Flynn put in a request to question him \u2014 she needed to look for permission from the prison authorities at that time. That permission was granted but Barry refused to meet her.<\/p>\n
She asked to be informed as soon as Barry was released from prison but in July 1999, having been moved to Shelton Abbey prison, he escaped from jail. The detective put out a warning on the Garda Pulse system and continued to make enquiries as to Barry\u2019s whereabouts over the years.<\/p>\n
In 2003, she received information that he been working in a pub in the UK. She made attempts to locate him but was unsuccessful.<\/p>\n
In early 2016, Det Garda Flynn was informed that there was a photograph of Barry on Facebook from two or three years previously and she started the search again. This ultimately led to a fingerprint check in July 2016 with the UK authorities.<\/p>\n
A positive match was identified and it transpired that Barry had been living under a number of aliases.<\/p>\n
Ms Hayes was then asked to review the statement she had made 17 years previously and she indicated that Barry had raped her. This enabled the garda\u00ed to upgrade their investigation and Det Garda Flynn secured a European Arrest Warrant.<\/p>\n
Barry was charged and extradited back to Ireland to face trial in January this year.<\/p>\n
Barry has a number of previous convictions from Ireland, Scotland, and England under different names, including indecent assault of a female in 1986 for which he received a three-year prison sentence. He also has convictions for aggravated burglary, assault, robbery, arson, and theft.<\/p>\n
His offending spans from the early 1970s to 2004.<\/p>\n
Det Garda Flynn said Barry took the opportunity to abuse his stepdaughter when her mother was out of the house and she said the abuse occurred every few weeks.<\/p>\n
The court heard that Barry told Ms Hayes not to tell anyone and that they would both get into trouble if she told anyone.<\/p>\n
Dominic McGinn, defending, told the court he has \u201cno instruction\u201d from Barry in relation to the verdict.<\/p>\n
Sentencing Barry, Ms Justice Karen O\u2019Connor acknowledged the work of Ms Hayes’s primary school teacher, who she said \u201cwas extraordinarily attentive and thoughtful in how she addressed matters when a young child was making such comments\u201d.<\/p>\n
She noted the comments \u201cclearly indicated\u201d that the child was more knowledgeable of sexual matters than she should have been.<\/p>\n
Ms Justice O\u2019Connor referred to the fact that teacher already had her suspicions when she handed the class out a worksheet in November 1998 which was returned the following January with the child\u2019s comment: \u201cI feel disappointed when my Da has sex with me\u201d.<\/p>\n
The judge referred to the teacher\u2019s evidence during the trial that in all her years teaching both in Ireland and another jurisdiction, she had \u201cnever ever\u201d come across a child filling out a worksheet in such a manner.<\/p>\n
Ms Justice O\u2019Connor also referred to how Barry caused a delay in the case progressing, including absconding from prison in Ireland and using different aliases when he lived in the UK.<\/p>\n
She said it was \u201ca particularly egregious violation of a young child\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe level of depravity is incalculable,\u201d said Ms Justice O\u2019Connor before setting a headline sentence of 14-and-a-half years for the rape offence and eight years for the sexual assault offences.<\/p>\n
She then imposed concurrent sentences of 12-and-a-half years and six-and-a-half years in prison. The sentence was backdated to when Barry first went into custody.<\/p>\n
Ms Justice O\u2019Connor acknowledged the \u201ctrojan efforts\u201d made Det Garda Flynn in her efforts to catch Barry and bring him to justice.<\/p>\n
She addressed Ms Hayes and told her she has dealt with the case with \u201cgreat dignity\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wish you the very best for the future. I understand this will live with you for the rest of your life but I hope you get some comfort that this part of the process is over,\u201d said Ms Justice O\u2019Connor.<\/p>\n
She had previously spoken directly to the woman, after she had delivered her victim impact statement during a sentence hearing last March, telling her it was \u201cone of the most eloquent victim impact statements I have ever received\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should be very proud of how you expressed yourself and your generosity,\u201d the judge said, referring to the woman thanking those who had helped her get through the court process and her expressions of gratitude to Det Garda Flynn and her teacher.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour grandparents would be very proud of you today,\u201d Ms Justice O\u2019Connor continued.<\/p>\n
She said her words would help other children who have been similarly abused and even if they don\u2019t find themselves being able to report it, \u201cat least they will know that it happens to other\u201d.<\/p>\n
Ms Justice O\u2019Connor acknowledged the \u201cenormous courage\u201d the woman had shown and told her \u201cI am very grateful to you\u201d.<\/p>\n
She said she sincerely hopes that her relationship with her other siblings will continue to improve and encouraged the woman to \u201ctake whatever help you need\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A woman who was raped and sexually abused by her stepfather as a child has praised the dedication…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":408376,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[54,61,60,43],"class_list":["post-408375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-courts","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=408375"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408375\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/408376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=408375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=408375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=408375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}