A man who "poisoned" his daughter's youth with years of sexual abuse after they reconnected when she was a child has been jailed for 11 and a half years. Cyril Mullane was found guilty by a Central Criminal Court jury of 26 counts of sexually abusing his daughter Chloe Mullane on dates between June 2011 and September 2016, when she was aged between 6 and 12 years' old.
Mullane, with an address at Borefield, Strokestown, Co Roscommon, was found guilty of 11 counts of oral rape, 14 counts of sexual assault and one count of attempted rape at his then homes in Co Sligo and in Norfolk in the UK. He had denied the charges. Ms Mullane waived her right to anonymity so her father could be named.
The court heard that she first met her father when she was aged six, after her mother reconnected with him following a brief relationship which resulted in her birth. Ms Mullane then went to visit her father's home in Rainbow Cottage, Castlebaldwin, Co. Sligo and later to his home in Norfolk.
The court heard Mullane started abusing his daughter from the age of six, with the abuse starting with inappropriate touching and progressing to oral rape. The abuse ended when Ms Mullane threatened to tell her mother about the abuse.
In her victim impact statement which was read out at a previous sentence hearing, Ms Mullane said she felt like "damaged goods" as a result of the abuse she suffered at the hands of her father. Sentencing Mullane today, Mr Justice Kerida Naidoo said Ms Mullane's youth "was poisoned by the abuse to which she was subjected".
He noted it was a significant breach of trust and the abuse occurred over a five-year period, capturing most of Ms Mullane's childhood. The judge handed down a sentence of 13 years. He suspended the final 18 months of this sentence on a number of conditions.
