A man has been jailed for 12½ years for raping a woman and sexually abusing her sister when they were children and lived in his neighbourhood.
David Mason (49) of Graigue Court, Ballymun, Dublin 11, had denied the charges but was convicted following a trial in the Central Criminal Court last March.
He had pleaded not guilty to 23 counts of sexual assault and five counts of rape against the first sister and three charges of sexual assault against her younger sister.
Both women have indicated that while they want Mason to be named in reporting the case, they do not wish to be named themselves.
Det Garda Brian Morrissey told Carl Hanahoe, prosecuting, that the older sister was seven years old when Mason, who was then 19, first began to sexually abuse her. She later described it as an escalating pattern of abuse that continued for two years and led to five incidents of rape.
The older sister said the first incident of abuse involved him touching her breast over her clothing while she was playing.
She said on another occasion he met her as she was coming out of the bathroom and took her by the hand into his brother’s bedroom before he lay her down on the bed and sexually assaulted her.
The woman later told gardaí that this abuse continued, on a weekly, sometimes biweekly basis on most occasions when the child visited Mason’s home.
She recalled the first incident of rape being around the time of her Communion. She said she told Mason to stop because he was hurting her, but he continued nonetheless.
The woman didn’t tell anyone about the abuse until her younger sister made a complaint to gardaí in September 2020. At that time her mother approached her and she disclosed that Mason had also abused her.
The younger sister, who is 16 years younger than Mason, told gardaí that he first sexually assaulted her when she was about three years old.
The woman said she made a complaint to gardaí in September 2020. She had disclosed the abuse to two friends in secondary school and later told her mother about the abuse. At that stage, she had been suffering with her mental health for some time.
Mason was interviewed in November 2021. He confirmed they had known each other and lived in the same neighbourhood but he denied all the allegations.
Mason was charged in 2022 and it was during the progress of these proceedings that the older sister made allegations of sexual assault and rape.
Mason was interviewed again in November 2024 and denied these allegations also.
The older sister read her victim impact statement into the record. She said she had “a deep sense of shame and disgust that I have never been able to fully escape”.
The woman said she felt guilty for not being able to protect her baby sister, adding: “I was a child – I did not have the ability to protect myself.”
She described experiencing panic attacks and nightmares, and said no child should have to carry memories like this.
“You changed how I experienced everything, for 30 years of my life, but despite everything, you did not end my story,” the woman said.
She said she made a constant choice to break the cycle – “it took years, it took strength.”
“Today I stand here as grown [me] after fighting for so long for little [me] – I am who I choose to be. I am brave and strong,” she said.
She described Mason as “a pathetic excuse of a man” and said she was holding him “accountable for the choices he made and the harm he caused”.
The woman concluded her statement by expressing her deepest gratitude to the judge for his “wisdom, patience and guiding her through these proceedings”.
The second sister said her life has been overshadowed and the emotional impact from the abuse has never gone away. She said she viewed “suicide as a way to escape”.
She said struggles to remember large parts of her childhood and believes this is linked to the trauma.
“He made me feel disgusting, worthless and uncomfortable in my own skin,” she said.
Eoghan Cole, defending, said his client was a father of two. He maintains his innocence.
Judge Kerida Naidoo said consecutive terms were necessary as there were two victims. He imposed consecutive sentences totalling 13 years and six months. He suspended the final 12 months of that term on strict conditions.
The judge said having considered the victim impact statement, it was “very clear that the offending behaviour had serious and enduring impacts on both victims”.
