A BRITISH couple has been jailed in Ireland after their son was subjected to 'extreme sexual violence' from the age of six.
The pair, who were based in Co. Waterford, were sentenced separately on separate charges.
Last week, the father of the child was jailed for 14 years for raping the boy and locking him in a wooden box in the family home.
The mother of the child was jailed today for 18 months for failing to protect her son from the "extreme sexual violence" by his father.
She was convicted at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin on a single count of child cruelty.
Mr Justice Robert Eagar said he was sentencing her on the basis that she was aware of the abuse but failed to protect her son or alert the authorities.
"It appears from the evidence she was aware to some extent of the extreme sexual violence against her son," he said. "She was aware he was locked in a box."
The woman was found not guilty of sexual assault in relation to allegations she had sex or simulated sex with her child.
The court had previously heard that her son, who is now in specialised residential care in Britain, believes his mother is a 'kind' woman, but felt angry with her for staying with his father.
The mother of the child said she believed the now 13-year-old had made up all the allegations after being manipulated by the Health Service Executive when he was taken into emergency care at the age of seven.
Reports submitted to the court told how the mother of the child has a mild to significant intellectual disability, is highly suggestive and vulnerable to exploitation.
The reports also detailed the woman's "appalling" family background, where sexual abuse had been the norm.
She grew up in Britain where she was sexually abused by her mother's partner from the age of seven.
She fell pregnant to the man when she was 14, and moved to Ireland where they had three more children together, all of whom were taken into care.
She met the co-accused and had her fifth child, the boy at the centre of this case in 2003.
Although she has been in custody since last May, the woman is in regular phone and written contact with her co-accused, leading prison staff to be concerned she is being manipulated by the man, the court heard.
Justice Eagar also noted that the woman is at moderate risk of reoffending and, while unlikely to "engage in wanton cruelty to others," she has a limited capacity to maintain a caring and safe environment for a child.
The judge imposed a three-year sentence, with 18 months suspended on several conditions, including that she does not have any contact with her partner.
In May this year, a jury at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin found the 66-year-old co-accused guilty of nine counts of raping his son from the age of six years old, and one count of child cruelty.
He was acquitted of raping the child with a poker.
Both parents had pleaded not guilty to the offences which occurred between 2009 and 2011.
In a victim impact statement, the boy said he "wished he could have taken [his mother] away" from his father.
The child also said his mother had been "manipulated" by his father, but he remains loyal to her and would like to meet her in the future, "just to chat with her."
A psychological report said the trial had "re-tramuatised" the boy, causing his sleeplessness, anxiety and hyper-vigilance to get worse.
During a post trial meeting, the boy told the psychologist, "please tell me this is it or I'm going to find a bus and jump in front of it".
