A Kerry man who carried out a campaign of sexual abuse against his daughter from she was 12 to her early 20s has beeen sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Edward Molyneaux, 82, from Kilshenane, Listowel, Co Kerry, received the sentence after being convicted of a "sustained campaign of sexual abuse" and "degradation" against his daughter. Last month, he was found guilty by unanimous verdict on 61 counts of rape, three counts of indecent assault, and two charges of assault causing harm to his daughter Marie Murphy, who suffered the abuse from the age of 12 into her early twenties.
The Central Criminal Court heard harrowing details of the abuse, which included beatings with a large leather strap and having a chair broken over her head when she was around twelve. Despite effectively admitting to the crimes during interviews with Gardaí, Molyneaux pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The court learned that he abused Marie in various locations, including ditches, fields, and lanes while their family home's foundation was under construction.
Marie Murphy, now 59, courageously waived her right to anonymity to bring the case forward. Ms Justice Siobhan Lankford acknowledged the severity of the abuse, placing it at the highest level on the scale.
She commended Mrs Murphy for her "powerful" and "direct" victim impact statement and extended her best wishes to her and her family for the future. Despite enduring an "appalling regime of abuse" the judge highlighted Mrs Murphy's success in life, noting her career as a mental health nurse and her work with teenagers, reports the Irish Mirror.
Ms Justice Lankford remarked that Mr Molyneaux, who has shown no remorse for his actions, might end up spending the rest of his life behind bars. She highlighted that despite the defendant's failure to accept the verdict, he had confessed to being a paedophile during interviews with Gardaí.
Ms Justice Lankford pointed out that a guilty plea would have spared Mrs Murphy the "huge trauma of a trial" and observed that the abuse occurred in various locations, including "Outdoors in ditches in circumstances which involved an unusual level of degradation. There is no prospect of rehabilitation. There is no basis for suspending (any portion of the sentence)."
The court was informed that when questioned by Gardaí in 2023, Mr Molyneaux admitted to "playing sex games" with Marie and acknowledged his sexual perception of her from as young as four years old. He revealed that he began "having sex" when she was around fourteen or fifteen, using contraception due to fears of pregnancy, and engaged in such acts "about once a week".
Upon being asked what he would call someone sexually attracted to a four year old, he responded: "A paedophile."
When further asked if he considered himself one, he said: "I am. But not to other kids."
In her victim impact statement, Mrs Murphy described her father as a "master manipulator" who painted her as a "trouble maker", while in truth, she was an innocent child enduring terrible abuse.
She confronted her father with the words, "It's time to speak out, I'm not keeping your secret anymore, it's your shame, your blame, you're the one who destroyed your name and your family."
She recounted the harrowing experiences starting in the late 1970s when she was just 12, describing how Mr Molyneaux began raping her at their family home and continued until she reached her early twenties: "It's time to speak out, I'm not keeping your secret anymore, it's your shame, your blame, you're the one who destroyed your name and your family."
"As a child, I needed someone to advocate for me, ensuring no harm would come my way, to feel I was safe and secure – (but) knowing no different, this was my norm, I was his, to be abused in whichever manner he so chose, after all, I was of his making."
Her voice unwavering, she asserted that her father branded her as deceptive: "I could read your face like an open book – to surrender as if to say, 'You don't dare best me' – that you were going to dominate me, no matter what – you treated me as your sexual plaything, doing things that a child should never know – you robbed me of the innocence of childhood."
She went on to reveal the dichotomy of her father's public persona versus his private tyranny: "While others would see you as a charismatic rogue that would help anyone out, you're a master manipulator - no one saw the wreckage you were causing within the home and in my life."
Concluding her powerful statement, she rebuked his belittlement of her, "You beat me down, saying that I would amount to nothing in this life. I have succeeded in life. I could read you like an open book. You treated me as your sexual play thing, that a child should never know. You robbed me of the childhood innocence."
Mrs Murphy expressed feeling "let down" by those around her during her formative years, lamenting, "I was let down by many during my childhood from family and outside agencies. All the signs were there, you only needed to look a little closer, that I was at high risk. But no one dared to approach you (her father) on any topic, due to the ramifications - the violence displayed at the drop of a hat."
She urged others in similar plights to speak out: "Speak the truth, then you will be heard and believed. There is hope and there is help that others can guide you through the dark times and guide you in to the light. Be brave, reach out. If you are experiencing any form of abuse it stops right now Just take that one step to freedom and recovery."
Mrs Murphy acknowledged the support she received from the Gardaí, legal teams, healthcare professionals, counsellors, and rape crisis centres.
Detective Sergeant Trevor Ryan provided harrowing details of the abuse, revealing that the perpetrator raped his daughter in various locations including houses, sheds, lanes, and ditches and continued the assaults even after she left home and returned for visits.
Ray Boland SC, prosecution counsel, highlighted the viewpoint of the Director of Public Prosecutions, describing the abuse as "exceptional" in nature.
A school friend who testified during the trial noted having seen marks on Mrs Murphy's body consistent with beatings from a belt.
Mr Molyneaux has been added to the sexual offenders register for life. The Director of Public Prosecutions suggested that a sentence ranging from 15 years to life imprisonment would be appropriate for the defendant.
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