Sentence for 'systematic' abuse of stepdaughters too lenient, court finds

Fionnuala Walsh

The Court of Appeal has issued new sentencing guidance for sexual assault offences after finding that the four-year term handed down to a man for the “systematic and calculated” sexual abuse of his stepdaughters was too lenient and did not meet the “gravity of the offences”.

The judgment comes after an appeal by the State, which argued that the jail term handed down to Gerard Nevin (42) for the abuse of his stepdaughters from when they were aged seven and eight left should be increased.

Nevin (42) of Grove Park, Rathmines, Dublin 6, had pleaded guilty to 22 counts of sexual assault committed between 2012 and June 2020 at various locations in Clondalkin, Lucan and Palmerstown.

The victims were Nevin’s stepdaughters, Catalina Grancea and Alexa Grancea, who indicated they wished to waive their right to anonymity to allow Nevin to be named.

The sentencing court heard that Nevin abused Catalina Grancea when she was aged between eight and 16 years’ old. Alexa Grancea was aged between seven and 15 when the abuse occurred.

In November 2024, Judge Sinéad Ní Chúlacháin imposed a global sentence of six years on Nevin, with the final two years suspended.

Caroline Latham BL, for the Director of Public Prosecutions had argued that the reduction to the headline sentence of almost 30 per cent - from nine to six years - was too high, given the age of the victims at the time and prolonged nature of the offending.

Thursday's new sentencing guidelines place Nevin’s abuse in the “upper range of offending”, with a headline sentence to be set between nine and 14 years.

In a judgement delivered on Thursday, Mr Justice Peter Charleton said that the case led the court to review the categorisation of these offences, with a view to giving sentencing judges some guidance on the sentencing bands in sexual assault cases.

He set out lengthy principles for sentencing and said that without the guidance, the trial judge’s approach was not sufficiently informed.

Mr Justice Charleton said this case involved repeated offences against girls who were young, vulnerable and dependent. He said from the victim impact statements, the court found the harm done was “at the upper end of the spectrum” for this form of sexual violence.

He said that “on no assessment could the medium band of three to six years be considered appropriate” for sentencing in this case.

Mr Justice Charleton said that on the basis of the analysis delivered today, which was not available to the trial judge, the headline sentence of six years imposed “does not meet the gravity of the offences”.

He said that the court will re-sentence Nevin in light of the new analysis on December 4th.

Appeal

Appealing against the leniency of the sentence last month, Ms Latham BL had described the sexual assaults as “an egregious breach of trust”.

She emphasised that Nevin had acted in “loco parentis” when the girl’s mother was working, and it was during those times that the offending took place.

She said the judge gave too great a reduction from the headline sentence for the plea of guilty, which was entered as the trial was due to get underway.

Counsel said the judge also fell into error in the application of the totality principle.

“While she appreciated the importance of not imposing a crushing sentence, I say the sentence she ultimately came to was not proportionate taking into account the gravity of the offending by the respondent,” said Ms Latham.

“The sexual abuse was systematic and calculated and greatly damaged the lives of the victims.”

Ms Latham also contended the judge made an error in suspending the final two years of the sentence, saying there was no evidential basis for this other than rehabilitation.

Tim O’Leary SC, representing Nevin, argued there had been no error on the part of the sentencing judge.

He said one of the principal mitigating factors in the case had been Nevin’s plea of guilty, which he said was “significant” and of value.

He said his client had no previous convictions, had a good work history and had led a completely pro-social life up to that point. Counsel also highlighted the remorse expressed by Nevin in letters to the victims.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help.