A teenager who was 17 when he had sex with a 14 year old girl has been jailed for 18 months.

The now 19-year-old told gardai at the time that he believed "consent was consent" and that he did not know a person under the age of 17 could not consent to having sex.

The accused, who cannot be named to protect the victim's identity, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to defilement of a child under the age of 15 at a location in Dublin in May 2018.

The youth was in state care at the time of the offence and told gardai he was only made aware of the age of consent by staff at his residential home after the offence.

Judge Martin Nolan noted in mitigation that the boy had co-operated with the investigation, pleaded guilty and made useful admissions. He said the young man had no previous convictions at the time and, although he had since accrued some, they were not of relevance.

The judge said the young man had indicated he was not aware of the age of consent. He said the authorities probably found that credible, but that it was not a great defence in this case.

Judge Nolan noted the accused had a difficult life and had spent much of his childhood in the care system. He said the boy had "not been parented too well", but no doubt knew the difference between right and wrong.

He said the accused was a child himself at the time of the offence but it was aggravating that the girl was under 15 years old. He noted the maximum sentence for this offence was life.

Judge Nolan said the age of the girl was a very important factor and unfortunately the boy deserved a custodial sentence. He imposed a three year sentence and suspended the final 18 months.

A prosecuting garda told Sinead McMullen BL, prosecuting, that the accused had sex with the 14-year-old girl after they had been socialising with a group of friends. The girl later told a family member and gardai were contacted.

The accused made full admissions to having sex with the girl and said he knew her age.

The garda agreed with Paul Murray SC, defending, that the boy told gardai that as far as he was concerned “consent was consent” irrespective of age, but that he learned afterwards from staff at his residential home that this was not so.

Mr Murray submitted that the boy had misunderstood and made a “horrendous mistake.”

He handed in a number of reports and said the boy's upbringing “made for very sad reading.”

He outlined one report which said the boy had a difficult early childhood and experienced a great deal of trauma in childhood and adolescence, much of which was beyond his control.

The report said he needed the right support and that he was at substantial risk of further institutionalisation by the criminal justice or health system.

Mr Murray said the boy had pleaded guilty, expressed remorse and been apologetic. He said there was not a “gross disparity” in age and he asked the court to be lenient in the circumstances.

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