A woman, who was abused by her stepfather's brother when she was 7, has refused to meet her attacker.

John Carvin of Holywell Crescent, Swords in Dublin was due to be sentenced a few weeks ago - but it was adjourned to see if she wanted to engage with him.

The court heard Mr. Carvin woke the girl in the middle of the night by kissing her on the face and lips.

It was around Christmas time in 2001 and she was sleeping with her sister in their grandmother's Dublin home.

The sexual assault lasted around five minutes and the woman (now 20) says she still has nightmares about it and is afraid to be around men.

Mr. Carvin (45) was convicted last month, but Judge Patrick McCartan deferred sentencing to see if the victim wanted to engage in a supervised meeting.

He said he had investigated the Restorative Justice Programme "in the hope that some reparation of the family relationship might be achieved".

The programme, which is run by the Probation Service, involves parties meeting in a supervised setting to discuss the effects a crime had on the victim. It usually accompanies a non-custodial sentence.

Today however, the court heard that the victim did not want to meet with him. The man was then sentenced to three years behind bars which was suspended in full.