Child abuser army sergeant is jailed
WOMAN LEFT WITH UNSEEN SCARS
AN Army sergeant has been jailed for seven years after he was found guilty of sexually abusing his wife’s young niece over six years.
Anthony Canning (74) of Fadden, Carrig, Birr, Co Offaly pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to the offences.
They included two charges of indecent assault, three charges of sexual assault and one charge of oral rape of Celine Daly from December 21, 1987 and December 1993.
James Dwyer SC, prosecuting, said that Ms Daly, who was between seven and 13 years old at the time of the offences, waived her right for anonymity so Canning could be named.
Canning, who was married to Ms Daly’s aunt, was between 37 and 43 years old during the abuse, which took place in his home.
Ms Daly read her own victim impact statement which said: “I stand before you not as a victim but as a survivor.
“I may become emotional, but that is because I am finally being heard.”
Fear
She described her home as happy and safe and that she did “not know fear, but that changed when I was seven”.
Ms Daly accused Canning of being in a “trusted position in our family” who “used this position to gain access to me”.
She added: “I held myself back and I lived in fear but not anymore”. She also said the abuse “left a lot of emotional scars which no one can see”.
“I would not have been able to get through this if not for my partner. I have learned to trust again, but it is not without its struggles.”
Mr Justice Tony Hunt said the statement spoke “squarely and directly” as to the long-term effects of sexual abuse.
The judge said: “A successful outcome can transfer the burden of shame and guilt back to where it belongs on the shoulders of the accused.”
He said that the offences also represented a “serious misconduct towards a young family member over a significant period of time”.
He said that Canning had pleaded guilty which was of significant benefit to Ms Daly as it would have been “traumatic” for her to retell the details.