A young man who was raped as an 11-year-old boy has told his abuser that he will not carry the guilt anymore, and that he is “reclaiming my voice, my story and my life”.
Devin O’Donnell, who is 19, was reading from his victim impact statement at the Central Criminal Court sentence hearing of 63-year-old Joseph Campbell of Castle Court, Daingean, Co Offaly.
Campbell, who is the father of Mr O’Donnell’s stepmother, was jailed for eight-and-a-half years. Campbell maintains his innocence and does not accept the verdict of the jury.
Fionnuala O’Sullivan SC, prosecuting, told the court that Mr O’Donnell wished to waive his right to anonymity so Campbell can be named in reporting the case.
Mr O’Donnell said in his victim impact statement: “You didn’t just hurt me in that moment, you changed how I experienced the world. You planted silence inside me.
“What you did stole parts of my life that I will never get back”
“And for a long time, I felt that silence keep my quiet, because the shame felt louder than my voice. But I’m not that scared little child anymore.
“I’m speaking now, not because I’m over it but because I am choosing to fight for myself, even when it is hard.
“What you did stole parts of my life that I will never get back. But you didn’t take everything. You didn’t take my strength. You didn’t take my future. You didn’t take my ability to heal.
“I am still here. And I’m slowly learning that I was never the one who should have felt ashamed, you were,” Mr O’Donnell continued.
Campbell was convicted following a trial last June on what is termed as section 4 rape – anal rape – at Mr O’Donnell’s home in October 2017. He had denied the charges. Further charges of sexual assault perpetrated by Campbell on the victim in December 2021 were taken into account.
Following his victim impact statement during an earlier sentence hearing last July, Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring said to the teenager that her advice would be that it is never too late to return to education.
“I know you didn’t finish your Leaving Certificate. It is never too late to go back. You are intelligent. I hope you find a path and if that means more education or training, you won’t be afraid to do it,” Ms Justice Ring said.
She previously adjourned the sentence hearing to allow for the preparation of a report from the Probation Services.
Sentencing Campbell, she noted Mr O’Donnell’s “resilience” and said he had faced many challenges throughout his life.
“He was preyed upon by a person whom he should have trusted – no child should have to have these experiences,” she said.
“He threatened an 11-year-old whose mother had just died – the psychological and emotional abuse that causes extends the physical harm”
Speaking about Mr O’Donnell, she said it was clear that he is “loved by many”.
“While this abuse has marked him, it should not define him. He is so much more than what Joseph Campbell did to him,” Ms Justice Ring said.
She added that she hopes “new normal and happy life events will outweigh this experience” before she wished Mr O’Donnell all the best for the future.
Ms Justice Ring said the aggravating features included the fact that Campbell was “a grandfather figure in the family structure” and “breached the trust that such a role brings”.
She further noted that he does not accept the verdict and has shown no insight or victim empathy.
“He threatened an 11-year-old whose mother had just died – the psychological and emotional abuse that causes extends the physical harm,” Ms Justice Ring said.
She accepted in mitigation that Campbell has no previous convictions.
Ms Justice Ring set a headline sentence of 11 years before reducing the sentence to ten years. She suspended the final 18 months of that term after acknowledging that Campbell’s “re-entry into society” would be difficult.
Campbell was further ordered that neither he, nor anyone on his behalf, should have contact with Mr O’Donnell either directly or indirectly, while he is in prison and for a further five years after his release.
Concurrent terms of six years were imposed for the sexual assault offences and Campbell was also ordered to engage with the Probation Service for 12 months upon his release from prison.
