<p>
	A charity which supports men and women who have been sexually abused as children, has called for judges to accept education on the impact and effect of sexual violence.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	One in Four made its call after the Court of Appeal reduced the amount of time a man who raped and sexually assaulted his son will spend in jail.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	The 57-year-old man was convicted of 47 counts of raping and sexually assaulting his son when the boy was between 12 and 15-years-old.</p>
<p>
	The offences took place at their Co Roscommon home between 2001 and 2004.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	He was sentenced to 14 years in prison in March 2010, but the final 18 months were suspended.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	The Court of Appeal dismissed the man&#39;s appeal against his conviction.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	However, the court ruled that considering the range of sentences handed down in cases of a &quot;broadly similar nature in terms of their seriousness&quot;, a greater portion of the sentence should have been suspended.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	Mr Justice Alan Mahon, who sat with Mr Justice George Birmingham and Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan, said that while it was not an &quot;exact science&quot;, net sentences in the other cases were in the region of 10 to 11 years.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	The court increased the suspended period of the sentence to three years, meaning the man was left with a jail term of 11 years.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	The victim was the man&#39;s eldest child and gave graphic evidence in a shocking trial of being subjected to violence and abuse from the age of about 12.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	Mr Justice Mahon said the overall family situation was &quot;disturbing, dysfunctional and abusive&quot;.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	The man&#39;s wife had also been convicted and imprisoned on serious charges of neglecting the children.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	The Executive Director of One in Four, Maeve Lewis, said what this man had done had been &quot;heinous&quot;.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	He said he had destroyed the lives of his family and their suffering would go on for the rest of their lives.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; She asked if the sentence was really sufficient in terms of the seriousness of the offences.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	Ms Lewis said the children in this case had been neglected and had suffered appalling sexual, emotional and physical abuse of a most severe nature.&nbsp;&nbsp; She said the fact that the man was now going to be released earlier, must be a huge disappointment to them.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	She asked when judges would accept education about sexual violence and its impact and effect on victims.</p>
<p>
	<a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0716/715269-rape-appeal/">http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0716/715269-rape-appeal/</a></p>
