Man jailed for repeated sexual abuse of underage niece

A woman has spoken of how she “went into court a victim and came out a survivor” after her uncle was convicted of sexually abusing her as a child in her home in Athlone.

Helena Flynn was disowned by her family for coming forward and reporting the abuse she suffered at the hands of her uncle, Mark O’Neill (58), of Belvedere Court, Mullingar.

Ms Flynn chose to waive her anonymity in court so that her abuser could be named, stating that she hopes the strength she showed in coming forward will encourage other victims to do the same.

Mr O’Neill still does not accept the verdict of the jury who, after a lengthy trial at Mullingar Circuit Court in May, found him guilty on eight sample counts of sexual assault.

In total, there were 28 counts on the indictment - eight for the indecent assault and 20 for the sexual assault of his niece between 1991 and 1993 in her own home at Battery Heights, Athlone, when she was between the ages of eight and ten years old.

Over the course of the trial, the jury heard evidence of how Mr O’Neill would stay the night at his sister’s house a few times a week, sleeping in the spare bed in Ms Flynn’s room.

The court heard how Mr O’Neill would lift his niece from her own bed and take her into his, positioning her so that her back was against his chest.

He would then put his hand between her legs and touch her vagina, while rubbing his erect penis against her until he ejaculated on her back. On some occasions, he attempted to penetrate her, but was unsuccessful.

The abuse would occur almost every time he stayed at his sister’s house, either the night he stayed, or the next morning when he woke up, the court heard. He would usually stay over up to three times per week.

Ms Flynn began biting herself as a form of self harm arising directly from the abuse, the court heard, and her mother would chastise her, telling her that if the marks on her arm were noticed in school, social services would be called.

Her uncle would often threaten her that a man would come and take her away if she disclosed the abuse to anyone. Despite this, on an occasion he was babysitting, she told him she was going to tell her mother what he was doing.

However, the court heard that Mr O’Neill got to his sister first, telling her that Ms Flynn was going to make accusations against him, prompting the woman to insist her daughter apologise.

Ms Flynn struggled greatly with her mental health as a result of the abuse, overdosing in her early 20s, before telling her mother the reason she was suffering. But her mother threatened her, telling her another uncle would “stab her to death” if she reported Mr O’Neill.

In an effort to distance herself from the family and the memory of the abuse, Ms Flynn moved to Northern Ireland, where her struggles continued, eventually leading her to report the abuse to a PSNI constable in October of 2020.

Detective Garda David Meade told Cathal O’Braonáin BL, prosecuting, that it was at that stage that he was appointed to investigate the case and, in January 2022, Mr O’Neill was arrested.

He admitted to staying frequently at his sister’s house and maintained he had a good relationship with his nieces and nephews, but denied the allegations of abuse, stating it was clear Ms Flynn had been sexually assaulted, but not by him. Despite this, a jury found him to be guilty of the abuse.

In her powerful victim impact statement, Ms Flynn addressed her uncle directly as she told him he had taken away her innocence and caused her to suffer pain as a child.

“I always screamed inside but it never came out. I can still hear the screams, the cries, terrified to sleep. I knew what you were doing was wrong,” she said, referring to the constant sexual abuse as “the most horrific thing a baby girl had to deal with”.

“You were the most horrible, disgusting man I ever endured. The pain you put me through… I was blackmailed to keep it quiet. I wasn’t to know any different, so I had to live with the nightmare of Battery Heights.

“But I’m in the wrong because I came forward. I’m brave enough to go through with it. I never harmed anyone in my life - just an innocent little girl. But because I came forward, I was the most horrible human ever.

“My family disowned me because I told people the truth. They turned on me, but you are the abuser… I had no one for support. Not one single family member. You should be ashamed of the pain and abuse you endured on me.”

Now the trial is over, Ms Flynn said she is going to live her life the way she should have and “enjoy all the years I’ve lost”.

“I never realised how strong I was until I went through this trial. I’m so proud of myself and I will hold my head high as I move forward,” she said.

Andrea Callan BL, on behalf of Mr O’Neill, told the court that he has a “potted history” regarding depression and anxiety, that he was getting on well in custody and “maintains full denial of these offences”.

Judge Kenneth Connolly commended Ms Flynn for having the courage to come forward and go through the trial, which he understood is “a very hostile environment and a very unpleasant environment". He also commended her on her strength to read her own victim impact statement.

While the maximum sentence in current times is 10 years for sexual assault on an adult and 14 years for the same crime on a child, Judge Connolly noted that the court is “very limited in what it can do” with regard to historic offences, as the maximum penalty at the time of the abuse was one of just five years in prison.

He said that there was “an extreme breach of trust” in this case as Mr O’Neill was the victim’s maternal uncle and was therefore afforded a significant portion of trust in his sister’s house.

“He breached that trust most egregiously,” said Judge Connolly, adding that there was also “a grooming element” in that Mr O’Neill “always referred to her as his favourite niece”.

He took “a particularly dim view” of the fact that threats were made to Ms Flynn when she said she was going to disclose the abuse to her mother, but Mr O’Neill made “a pre-emptive strike” and got there first.

He also noted Mr O’Neill’s two previous convictions, one of which saw him serve a 12-month prison sentence around the time of the offending.

“In this particular case, I’m struggling to find any significant mitigation,” said Judge Connolly, noting there was no plea and that Mr O’Neill still does not accept the verdict.

The probation report assessed him as being of low risk of committing sexual or violent offences in the future, and Mr O’Neill has been of “excellent behaviour" in prison since he was remanded in custody after his conviction.

Setting a headline sentence of 48 months out of a possible 60, Judge Connolly said he “cannot see any justification for mitigating below 42 months”, and imposed that sentence on Mr O’Neill.

In circumstances of his excellent record since these offences, he proceeded to suspend the final six months subject to a number of convictions, including that he have no contact whatsoever with Ms Flynn for the rest of his life, and that he have no unsupervised contact with minor females. He has also been placed on the sex offenders’ register.

The sentence was backdated to May 29, when Mr O’Neill first went into custody.