Woman, 70, escapes prison for failing to report sexual abuse

Woman, 70, escapes prison for failing to report sexual abuse

19 October 2016

A WOMAN who failed to report a “devastating” sexual assault on her young grandson has been given an 18-month suspended prison sentence.

The 70 year-old local woman, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim, admitted perverting the course of justice when the abuse occurred in the district in the 1990s. The boy was aged around eight at the time.

Friday’s sitting of Downpatrick Crown Court heard that it was the grandmother’s own father who had carried out the assault in her home. 

Summing up the case ahead of sentencing, Judge Piers Grant said the woman had come across the boy after it was clear a serious sexual assault had occurred. He said that when the child queried what had happened she wrapped him in a towel and told him to have a shower.

“You asked no further questions of him,” the judge told the woman in the dock. “He was told by you not to say anything about what occurred.”

The judge continued: “He was obviously vulnerable and he looked up to you and trusted you.

“He was at a place where he would not have expected to suffer from anyone hurting him. When in fact he was abused violently and cruelly by his great-grandfather.

“He placed his trust in you and expected to receive your comfort and help.”

The court heard that the case had been set for trial but that a guilty plea had been entered after the offending was restricted to one charge instead of two.

Judge Grant said the victim was relieved by the admission.

“This had a devastating effect on the injured party,” he said. “The fact that you have pleaded guilty in this matter has come as an enormous comfort to him even at this late stage. He obviously has residual affection for you.”

Outlining the mitigating factors in the case, Judge Grant noted that the woman was herself a victim of abuse in a family background of sexual offending.

He said the woman was not responsible for her father’s actions but queried whether further abuse from him could have been prevented if this incident had “come to light in the proper way”.

“You simply buried your head in your hands and chose to remain silent,” he told her. “You chose not to know what had happened.”

Alluding to the ongoing investigations over institutional abuse in Northern Ireland, Judge Grant said there had been “too many cases” of sexual abuse in this area.

Quoting philosopher Edmund Burke, he said: “All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.”

The judge ruled that the grandmother’s actions had been “mean and deplorable” and worthy of a custodial sentence. He noted, however, that she was assessed as no longer presenting a risk of serious harm.

He told the woman: “With hindsight you now regret your actions. If you commit any other offences then that suspended sentence will be activated.”