A survivor of a series of sexual assaults which took place 50 years ago has said her abuser \u201cinvaded my home, my body, my mind, and every part of my being\u201d.<\/p>\n
In her victim impact statement, the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons and is now in her 60s, said she was forced to live her whole life \u201cwith great confusion, shame, and a deep sense of loneliness.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was speaking after her 75-year-old abuser was publicly named for the first time following his sentence hearing in Dublin Central Criminal Court.<\/p>\n
Pensioner Tom White, a retired electrician and married father of three, from Brookhaven, Montpelier, Co Limerick, was convicted on 10 counts of indecent assault for abuse between 1972 and 1973.<\/p>\n
His trial took place in Limerick Criminal Court in February over a week, during which White attended with members of his family.<\/p>\n
The jury later delivered unanimous verdicts on all charges and acquitted him of one charge of rape. White pleaded not guilty to all 11 charges.<\/p>\n
His victim, aged between 13 and 16 years at the time, told the court in her evidence that Mr White was the son of her family\u2019s housekeeper.<\/p>\n
They lived across the road from each other at the time at Glencoe, Fort Mary Park, North Circular Road in Co Limerick at the time of the abuse. White\u2019s mother was hired by the then-teenager\u2019s father, after her mother, who was an alcoholic, left the family home.<\/p>\n
The court was told the children grew up in a dysfunctional and hostile environment, and after their mother left, a neighbour was hired to help out. \u201cI was terrified of him and her,” the woman said in her evidence.<\/p>\n
She accused White, who is nine years her senior, of sexually abusing her many times, as well as mocking and jeering her body parts in front of others.<\/p>\n
She said the abuse included putting his hands down her trousers and rubbing his fingers around her private parts, and carrying out several sexual acts, including \u201cdry humping\u201d her and \u201cgrinding\u201d against her and groping her breasts.<\/p>\n
He would say she had a \u201chairy box\u201d and that it was \u201csticky\u201d or \u201cwet” in front of others in the home.<\/p>\n
In her victim impact statement read out at the Dublin Central Criminal Court, by Philip Rahn SC, she said: \u201cI was a happy child, with all the innocence that goes with childhood.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy carefree childhood ended from the day Tom White, my abuser, invaded my home, my body, my mind, and every part of my being.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis invasion shaped my destiny for every day over the next 50 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving lived with great confusion, shame and a deep sense of loneliness, every part of my life was negatively impacted by the horror that I experienced by that man.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy childhood memories are marred by his sexual abuse and later.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy future was to be extremely challenging; my mental and physical health greatly suffered for 50 years. I have endured extremely low self-esteem and always found it difficult to navigate social situations.”<\/p>\n
The woman said she cannot trust anyone due to the actions of Tom White on her and that her choice to live \u201ca wholesome, peaceful life was cruelly removed by that man”.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She wrote:<\/p>\n
\n I\u2019ve been haunted by my painful childhood.\n <\/p>\n
She went on to say that she was \u201ccoercively controlled\u201d and that had led to \u201canxiety and stress\u201d and that she was always \u201cfilled with fear\u201d, which led to \u201chyperventilation\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The woman said she made herself vomit after eating and that this became a daily habit and that she would pinch herself on the back of her knees until it hurt as a way of coping.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was unable to tell anyone what happened to me,\u201d she wrote. \u201cI had a virtual wall around myself because of the life-changing experience I suffered by Tom White.<\/p>\n
\u201cI struggle daily with post-traumatic stress.”<\/p>\n
She said she ran away from education, lost all her friends and school pals \u201cbecause of that man\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tom White sat in the dock for the 20-minute hearing, while members of his family sat close by. He stared at the ground as the victim impact statement was read out.<\/p>\n
Several members of his family sat in a row close to him.<\/p>\n
The victim sat at the back of the court with members of her family.<\/p>\n
Mark Nicholas SC for White had highlighted the challenges faced with historical cases and on Monday told the court his client \u201cis 75, married 50 years, and has three children”.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has a full history of work, which came out in the trial; he has continued to work up to retirement,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He asked Justice Eileen Creedon to consider a non-custodial sentence.<\/p>\n
Mr Rahn SC for the DPP said the abuse was at the serious end of the scale and that the maximum for each count of abuse could carry a sentence of up to two years.<\/p>\n
The victim said she wanted to remain anonymous, but she believed there was no reason for White not to be named publicly, which is the legal entitlement of the victim to do so, once the perpetrator has been found guilty in a court of law.<\/p>\n
The case has been adjourned until June 15.<\/p>\n