Man jailed for sexual assault and sexual exploitation of teenage girl in foster care

A man has been jailed for three years for the sexual assault and sexual exploitation of a teenage girl in foster care. 

The 47-year-old pleaded to one count of sexual assault, five counts of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child and three counts of using technology to facilitate the sexual exploitation of a child.

The offences occurred between November 2021 and April 2023, when the victim was aged between 14 and 16 years old. 

The accused man can't be named to protect the victim's anonymity. 

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that the girl was in foster care at the time and the man was then in a relationship with the daughter of her foster mother.

The offending came to light after the teenager's foster mother discovered messages of a sexual nature between the girl and the man.

The girl was interviewed in May 2023. She outlined that the man masturbated in front of her many times and that she received vapes and cannabis from him.

The girl said the man had touched her breasts on one occasion.

On another occasion, she said she went to the house to get vapes and then upstairs, where the man was in a state of undress in a bedroom. He pulled up his boxers when he realised she was recording him on her phone, she told gardai.

She said she returned downstairs, then took the vapes and left the house.

The girl told gardai the man told her after several incidents that he was disgusted with himself, promised not to do it again and to go to the gardai.

The court heard gardai asked her how she felt about it and she replied “fine, a bit weird”.

The court also heard there were messages of a sexual nature found on her phone between her and the man and recordings which indicate he was masturbating.

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An investigating garda told Lisa Dempsey BL, prosecuting, that the girl was “forthright” when speaking to gardai that she was “blackmailing the man”, telling him that if she didn't get vapes, she would tell her foster mother.

The man was voluntarily interviewed by gardai. He told gardai he was aware of the girl's circumstances and her age and admitted giving her money, vapes and cannabis.

When asked by gardai about the sexual assault, the man admitted touching and kissing her breasts, but suggested the girl had instigated it. 

He accepted further sending the girl sexually explicit voice messages and getting her to send similar messages to him in exchange for vapes. 

When the voice messages were put to him, the man initially said he didn't remember, then told gardai “[the girl] said she did it with other boys, I was trying to think of myself as one of the other boys and use it as my fantasy”. 

The court was told that gardai estimate that a minimum of 20 incidents occurred. 

The girl declined to make a victim impact statement and is no longer living in that particular foster care situation. 

The man has one previous conviction for a road traffic offence, dating back to the early 2000s. He has been in custody since his arrest in 2023. 

The garda agreed with Mark Lynam SC, defending, that his client made full admissions and appeared to have a level of insight into his offending when interviewed by gardai.  

It was further accepted that the man told gardai his relationship was dysfunctional and that he had addictions to pornography and alcohol.

The garda also agreed that the man said to gardai that the girl told him she was sexually active and that he used talking to her to fuel his fantasy, but this progressed.

The garda further agreed with Mr Lynam that his client has concerns about returning to the area where he used to live, but there are no specific threats against him.

A psychological report was handed to the court. Mr Lynam said the report states his client developed a sex addiction and his use of alcohol was a disinhibiting factor. He said the report states his client is no longer using sex as a coping mechanism, is not viewing pornography and attends AA meetings.

Counsel said the man is motivated to address his issues and has some family support. He said his client wishes to focus on his relationship with his four children and get back to work upon his release from custody.

Judge Martin Nolan said the man had engaged in “serious misbehaviour” and that the girl witnessed “obscene behaviour”. 

He imposed a three-year sentence, backdated to when the man went into custody.