A Co. Armagh man who raped and sexually assaulted his underage niece was this week handed a 10-year sentence.
The paedophile – who cannot be named for legal reasons – was told he will serve five of those years behind bars, with the other five spent on licence.
The man, who subjected the girl – who was just 11 when she was first abused – to a traumatic ordeal over a three year period between April 4, of 2015, and May 8, of 2018, was handed the sentence at Newry Crown Court on Tuesday.
The defendant denied all the charges levied against him but was found guilty on all counts after two days of deliberation by the jury who heard, in graphic detail, the horrifying accounts of the young victim.
As well as the 10 year term, the defendant has been placed on of the sexual offenders register indefinitely. He is also disqualified from working with children.
Conditions of his five year period on licence include:
– the defendant must permanently reside at an approved address and must not leave to reside elsewhere without obtaining the prior approval of his probation officer and thereafter must reside as directed by his probation officer;
– Defendant must not reside (not even stay one night) in the same household as any child under the age of 18 without the prior approval of his probation officer;
– The defendant must not enter the area of (to be agreed pre-release) as defined by the attached map without the prior approval of his probation officer; Defendant must not seek to approach or communicate directly or indirectly with the victim and/ or family members without the prior approval of his probation officer and/ or Southern Health and Social Services Trust;
– Defendant must not have unsupervised contact either directly or indirectly with children under the age of 18 or vulnerable adult without the prior approval of his probation officer and/or Southern Health and Social Services Trust except where contact is inadvertent and not reasonably avoidable in the course of lawful daily life;
– Defendant must not undertake work or other organised activity, whether paid or unpaid, which will involve a person under the age of 18 without the prior approval of his probation officer;
– Defendant must not develop any personal relationships with females without first notifying his probation officer who will take appropriate steps to ensure that verifiable disclosure has been made;
–Defendant must attend all appointments arranged with General Practitioner and cooperate fully with any care or treatment they recommend;
–Defendant must present himself in accordance with the instructions given by his probation officer to attend PBNI Intensive Supervision Unit, Alderwood House, Hydebank Wood, Purdysburn Road, Belfast, or another venue specified by his probation officer, to actively participate in a programme designed to address sexually abusive behaviour and comply with the instructions given by, or under the authority of, the person in charge.
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