Woman who was raped by her brother says she hands 'shame' back to him in victim impact statement

A WOMAN HAS said she will be forever grateful to the jury of 11 men and one woman for “hearing me, hearing my truth” in relation to the sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of her older brother.

Olivia Payne told her brother Gerry Mooney (61), while delivering her victim impact statement during his sentence hearing at the Central Criminal Court:”I hand the filth, shame and disgust of those actions back to you.”

She said the “real win” for her was the fact that she had “the inner strength” to disclose the abuse and face the court process twice, thanking the jury of 11 men and one woman for delivering a unanimous guilty verdict earlier this year. 

“You showed your true cowardice by lying through this process, shame, shame on you,” Ms Payne told Mooney.

Mooney, formerly of Clonin, Rhode, Co Offaly, was convicted by a Central Criminal Court jury earlier this year of the rape and indecent assault of his then 11-year-old sister, Olivia Payne, at their family home in 1982.

Mooney was 16 or 17 years old at the time. He had pleaded not guilty to the offences and has no previous convictions.

Diarmuid Collins SC, prosecuting, told the court that Ms Payne wished to waive her right to anonymity in the case. 

Delivering her victim impact statement Ms Payne turned to face her brother.

She said Mooney raped an 11-year-old girl, in their parents’ bed, with heinous callousness.

“You violated my body in the most calculated manner… with no regard for the horror you were inflicting on me,” she continued.

She said her brother had thought that for 40 plus years “you had got away with it but each and every one of those years I have suffered those consequences”.

“The effect will not stop for me today, it may never stop, but I will work on whatever means I can to help me heal my mind,” Ms Payne said before she added “the court will decide the appropriate consequences for your actions”. 

“I come here today not as a new woman but one who has been vindicated, validated and most importantly believed,” she said.

She described how her pain has been eased by “each and every one of the 11 men and one woman believing me – they handed down a unanimous verdict – I will be forever grateful to each of those 12 people,” Ms Payne continued.

She said she embarked on “this journey” and disclosed the abuse because “I could not accept he was allowed to go unpunished for his vile actions”.

Ms Payne said from her very first interaction with the gardaí she was treated with the “utmost respect and care”.

“From the very first day I was assured they would leave no stone unturned,” she said.

“The court process has taken a lot longer than I hoped, but I eventually got my day in court,” Ms Payne said before she again thanked the jury who she said had been presented with her brother’s “emphatic denials”.

“Had he been believed, I would have been unjustly branded a liar,” Ms Payne said before she added that Mooney has shown no remorse for his actions.

“I want to seriously thank the prosecution team, the DPP for seeing the truth in my statement and the members of the garda team led by Sergeant Tracey Goslin for their support and dedication,” Ms Payne said.

Ms Justice Eileen Creedon remanded Mooney on continuing bail to 23 November next for sentence.

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Sgt Goslin told Mr Collins that when Ms Payne was younger the family had a tradition whereby they all watched the 9pm news together but as the youngest in the family, she was asked to go into her parents’ bed and warm it up for them before bedtime.

At the time Ms Payne slept in a single bed in her parents’ room.

Ms Payne later told gardaí that Mooney would come into the room and get in under the covers, once he sexually abused her and on another occasion, he raped her.

She said she recalled it was around Christmastime as she remembered a television advertisement for a doll that she wanted. Mooney promised to get her that doll if she did not tell anyone about the abuse. 

Ms Payne said she was naïve at the time and had no knowledge of any such matters as there had been no discussion of sexual matters at home at that time.

She recalled that her brother raped her, after coming into their parents’ room, under similar circumstances on another occasion. Afterwards he got up and left the room.

Ms Payne noticed the presence of blood both on her nightdress and the sheet on her parents’ bed. She tried to clean it up with a facecloth and afterwards tried to dry the damp patch on the sheet by lying on the bed with her bare skin.

She was worried that she would be in trouble. When her parents came to bed that evening the sheet was still damp and her mother accused her of wetting the bed, before her mother changed the sheets. 

Ms Payne got married in 1992 and her husband was the first person she disclosed the abuse to.

She made a formal complaint to gardaí in January 2020 and Mooney was arrested and interviewed in April 2022. He said he had no recollection of the events as his sister had described.

Colman Fitzgerald SC, defending, asked the court to accept that his client was a minor at the time of the offending.

He said he served in the army for 20 years and had “a perfect service record”. He has continued to work since, mostly manual work and in the building trade, Mr Fitzgerald said.

Counsel said Mooney is married with two daughters and handed in references from his wife and daughters.

“They are acutely aware he has been convicted of these offences. The references simply tell you the man as they knew him,” Mr Fitzgerald said. 

He said Mooney has been described in the testimonials as a hard-working man and a decent husband and father who has come to the assistance of his adult children when they needed him.

Mr Fitzgerald said that this was a case that in which it is clear that a significant custodial sentence would be imposed, but he asked the court to be as lenient as possible.

Ms Payne read her victim impact statement into the record outlining how for over 40 years she has lived with the shame and disgust of the abuse she suffered at the hands of Mooney.

She said the abuse was perpetrated – “all for your own disgusting sexual gratification”.

Ms Payne described how she was raped by her brother in what “should have been the safest place on earth for me – my home”.

She said how the pain of the abuse she suffered is “always waiting in the shadows” when it comes to her in the darkness and also in the cold light of day.

She described suffering various stress-related illnesses and being hospitalised for these conditions. 

Ms Payne said the abuse has most significantly impacted the relationship she has with her husband and daughters who have had to accompany her in life “not knowing what should be said when I was overcome with grief and loss”.