March 2018 Corkman sexually assaulted former partner’s daughter A three-year jail term was imposed on a Corkman who was found guilty of sexually assaulting his ex-partner’s daughter on occasions when she was only 12 to 13 years old. David Buckley, aged 32, of 4 Convent Rd, Doneraile, Co Cork, denied the sexual assaults which he carried out between December 2009 and March 2011 at his then partner’s home in another area in Co Cork. A jury found him guilty in November. Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin remanded Buckley in custody for sentencing yesterday at Cork Circuit Criminal Court. The jury delivered 11-1 majority verdicts on five sexual assault counts and a further 10-2 majority verdict on another. They found him not guilty of a seventh sexual assault and not guilty of a sexual exploitation charge and a count attempting to engage in sexual intercourse with a child under the age of 15. Imelda Kelly, prosecuting, said the victim had no difficulty with the accused being identified but she did not want to be named. The victim said yesterday: “When I was 12 he began to sexually assault me. It continued until I was 14. I felt alone. I was confused, depressed and suicidal. I have been battling depression since a young age. I have tried to take my life on two occasions because I felt my life was not worth living. “I took alcohol to escape the reality of what happened. It was very hard for me. I felt insecure, depressed, isolated. I felt my childhood and innocence were taken from me. All I wanted was a normal happy family. “I am proud of myself for having the courage to go through this.” Judge Ó Donnabháin sentenced Buckley to three years in jail. The victim said during the trial that Buckley gave her vodka when she was 13 and that the sexual assaults started with him French kissing her and then touching her on the behind and on her breast. Ms Kelly said that there was a pattern of behaviour where the alleged assaults increased in seriousness over time.