Face of man who sexually abused his three-year-old cousin as he's jailed

Sunday World

18-07-2025

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The court heard that Dowling was Mr Murphy's older cousin and would babysit him and his brother.
Darren Dowling pictured at the Criminal Courts of Justice (CCJ) on Parkgate Street in Dublin. Photo: Paddy Cummins
Darren Dowling (48) of Palace Flats, Palace Close, St Saviour, Jersey, UK, was found guilty of eight counts of oral rape and three counts of indecent assault that took place at a Clondalkin address between 1990 and 1993 against his cousin Alan Murphy following a Central Criminal Court trial in July 2024.
Mr Murphy has waived his anonymity to have Dowling named.
Dowling has three previous convictions, all from Jersey in the UK. The court heard that one of the convictions involved him engaging in messages with an undercover police officer in which he sent a picture of himself holding a 10-month-old child on his knee, and referring to how excited he was and that there was a bulge in his pants. He was sentenced to 9 months for this offence.
At a previous hearing, Justice Paul Burns said the crimes had an adverse effect on Mr Murphy, leading to him having behavioural problems and abusing alcohol and drugs as a teenager to block out the memory of the abuse. The birth of his own children helped him to come to terms with his addictions.
Darren Dowling pictured at the Criminal Courts of Justice (CCJ) on Parkgate Street in Dublin. Photo: Paddy Cummins
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'He is rightly proud of himself for seeing it (the trial process) through, and the court hopes that with further intervention and support from his loving family, he will continue to recover,' Mr Justice Burns said.
He set a headline sentence of 13 years for the oral rapes and eight years for the sexual assault, given that the victim was a very young boy at the time of the offending, and his cousin had been placed in a position of trust. He also acknowledged that the abuse had happened in the victim's home, a place which 'ought to have been a place of safety', Mr Justice Burns said.
He reduced the headline sentences to six and a half years and four years respectively, given that Dowling was a juvenile at the time of the offending. Read more
Mr Justice Burns then imposed concurrent sentences of five years and three years before he suspended the final 12 months of the five-year term on strict conditions, including that Dowling engage with the Probation Supervision upon his release.
The case was adjourned for mention to allow for the hearing of a case in the Supreme Court in relation to the naming of juvenile accused persons when they reach adulthood, and therefore could not be reported until now.
At the previous hearing, Detective Garda Sharon Duncan told Grainne O'Neill, BL, prosecuting, that on July 12 of this year, a jury found Dowling guilty of 11 counts. The court heard that Dowling was Mr Murphy's older cousin and would babysit him and his brother.
The court heard that while Dowling was babysitting, he would bring Mr Murphy upstairs to the bathroom and place his penis into Mr Murphy's mouth and move his head back and forward. Mr Murphy stated in his evidence that the door would be closed and the offending would last between 10 and 15 minutes. Mr Murphy's brother was outside the bathroom or on the stairs while this was happening.
The court heard that the abuse would take place 'on each and every occasion' that Dowling would babysit. Mr Murphy described how he would scream and hold onto his mother's leg when she was going out. Mr Murphy was aged between three and six at the time of the offending, and Dowling was aged between 13 and 16.
Mr Murphy's mother gave evidence during the trial, in which she said that Dowling had begun babysitting her sons around the time of Italia 1990. She said that her son disclosed the abuse to her when he was 15 years old.
Mr Murphy's brother gave evidence that Dowling would bring his brother to the bathroom. He said the door was closed and possibly locked, as he had tried to enter the bathroom once but could not. He said that when his brother came out of the bathroom, he would be upset and crying.
The Director of Public Prosecutions placed the offences in the 10-15 year band. The court was told that the maximum sentence available for section 4 rape is life in prison and 10 years for each of the indecent assault counts.
Detective Garda Duncan read Mr Murphy's victim impact statement to the court, which said: 'I never understood the effect the abuse had on me until I gave up drinking and drugs. I was always acting up and misbehaving. I turned to drink and drugs as an early teen to block out the abuse. No one knew why I was so moody.'
He said I was so embarrassed and ashamed of people finding out. 'I was just a little boy; why would he do that to me? It makes me feel sick. I want my boys to know never to be afraid to tell the truth.'
He concluded by saying: 'I am so grateful for the results of the trial.'
Det Gda Duncan agreed with Hugh Hartnett, SC, defending, that his client met with gardai in Jersey on a voluntary basis and did not contest this extradition from Jersey.
Mr Hartnett said his client was a child at the time of the offending. He said it is 34 years since these offences took place, and his client had set up a life for himself in Jersey.
Counsel said Dowling was first told that no prosecution would take place, and then that decision was reversed. He said that there was one 'blemish' on his client's record for which he received a nine-month sentence.
Mr Hartnett handed letters of testimonial into the court, which described Dowling as a helpful and kind person to his friends.
He asked the court to take into account the very serious factors that distinguished this case from others; he outlined that his client was a child at the time of the offending. He said there was no use of violence except for the act itself, and no threat was made.