Grandfather who abused children aged from five to 10 will to serve less than two years behind bars

Antrim Crown Court heard that he admitted his guilt just as the first victim was about to give evidence at the trial.

The 58-year-old was ordered to serve half his sentence in jail and half under supervised licence conditions.

He claimed to have confessed to save the girls the ordeal of being cross-examined.

That cross examination, said Judge Patricia Smyth, was to be conducted based on his “outrageous” and “scandalous” claims the primary school girl had tried to initiate sexual contact.

According to his claims, she “repeatedly tried to get him to touch her in an inappropriate and sexual manner; that she repeatedly touched herself in an inappropriate and sexual manner and that her behaviour was so inappropriate that he threw her out of the house”.

Judge Smyth said despite his admission of guilt now, there was still “no remorse whatever for your terrible deeds”.

Last June, when the trial had started, the jury had watched a video of detectives interviewing his 10-year-old granddaughter.

She was about to be cross examined by a defence barrister when the defendant asked to be re-arraigned and entered guilty pleas to five counts of sexual assault and two of inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity in relation to his granddaughter, plus one further count of sexual assault of her half sister, with all of the offences occurring on dates between December 31, 2017, and April 18, last year.

The court heard how the defendant’s granddaughter was abused between the ages of eight and 10.

She had been going to his house to be minded two afternoons a week, but he had touched her inappropriately both under and over clothing and forced her to touch his private parts, telling the little girl it was “their secret”.

At one stage, he told the girl’s mother that her half-sister was “welcome to come too – she would not be treated any differently from the other grandchildren”.

Judge Smyth said while the mum saw that as a “kind gesture” and the little girl, who was between five and seven-years-old at the time, began to call him “granda”, she also became a victim, and was touched inappropriately.

At one stage, it emerged that the older girl was Googling at what age children could be arrested by police, and asked her mum “if she could be arrested” but she told her that “only bad people get arrested”.

Judge Smyth said it was clear the “secret was weighing heavily upon her”.

The offences came to light in April last year when the older girl revealed that her grandfather had been touching her, and a few days later her younger half sister made similar disclosures.

The 58-year-old was arrested and questioned by police but denied any wrongdoing doing during police interviews.

Jailing him today, Judge Smyth said the “primary aggravating factor…is the very significant breach of trust” along with the pre-meditation of the offending, the multiple victims, their vulnerability and the length of time of the offending.

She told the defendant that while in sex case guilty pleas are of “enormous value,” his confessions were devalued because they came “at the very latest stage” so the credit he would receive “will be significantly reduced”.

Quoting from legal guidelines, Judge Smyth warned that “the threat of sexual abuse of children in modern society has become so grave, the duty resting on the courts to deter those who maybe tempted to harm little children sexually has become so important that severe sentences must be passed”.

In addition to the 45 month sentence, the defendant was ordered to sign the police sex offenders register for the rest of his life, barred from working with children, and was also made the subject of a five year Sexual Offences Prevention Order.

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