Ailish Smith, a 38-year-old mother of three, has sued her father, described as “extremely violent,” for the horrific sexual abuse she endured from him as a child. 

The Irish Examiner reports that while Ailish Smith’s father, Gerard Smith, pled guilty in 2006 to systematic sexual abuse of his daughter and served three years in prison, Ailish brought a civil action suit for damages against her father in 2008.

The High Court in Dublin has heard of the atrocities that Ailish Smith allegedly endured from the time she was two or three until she was about twelve years old. When Ailish went to her mother about the abuse, her mother allegedly said “it wasn’t too bad - he didn’t rape you.”

While Ailish maintains that both her parents threatened her by saying that no one would believe her and that she would be thrown in a mental hospital if she ever came forward about the abuse, her mother Catherine has since said that her daughter’s accusations were “utter lies.”

Having suffered depression and contemplated suicide, Ailish Smith brought about civil action for damages in 2008 against her father. The court now needs to decide whether or not Ailish will be blocked from proceeding with the action due to the amount of time that has passed.

Psychiatrist Professor Patricia Casey, however, has defend Ailish Smith in court by saying that Ailish was traumatized by the criminal proceedings she faced earlier this decade. She added that Smith most likely was hesitant about coming forward because of lack of support from her mother.