An 86-year-old man who raped two children more than 60 years ago has avoided jail because a judge said he is too old and ill.
John Joe Kiernan repeatedly raped the boy and girl, who are brother and sister, when they were between four and 10-years-old.
Kiernan was arrested after his victims, who are now in their 60s, came forward to police in Ireland last year.
He would attack the children near or on farmland where he worked as a labourer in the late 1950s.
In one sickening attack, he raped the girl in her bedroom and threatened to ‘bury her’ afterwards, The Journal reports.
Detective Sergeant Sharon Walsh told the court that Kiernan would orally rape the boy on fishing trips.
The victim told police: ‘I never remember being afraid. This was just normal life for me.’ Read more