A 24-year-old man, who went on the run before he was convicted of abusing a young girl, has been jailed for seven years.
The sentencing took place in his absence as Gardaí continue to try to track him down.
Mr. J Michael White said one of the most aggravating factors of the case was the enormous breach of trust involved.
The girl was just five-years-old when she was abused for the first time.
The then teenage boy was babysitting her for his cousin and he went on to sexually assault her thirteen more times over the next three years.
He’d been on bail throughout his trial and didn’t come back to court after the jurors began their deliberations.
The dock was empty when they eventually came back with the guilty verdicts and he has been on the run ever since.
In his absence, Mr. J White today sentenced him to seven years in prison and ordered for his sentence to begin from the day he’s caught.
