'I wake with horrific nightmares' - Woman abused by cousin as a child tells Prime Time

A young woman abused by her cousin when she was a child has given a hear-hitting interview to Miriam O'Callaghan on RTE's Prime Time.

Sophie Brady was sexually assaulted by her cousin David Hamilton, who has just received his prison sentence after pleading guilty.

David Hamilton was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison, which led the victim, Sophie Brady, to waive her anonymity out of frustration.

David's brother Jonathan also pleaded guilty to one count of rape and sexual assault of Sophie’s older sister.

Jonathan was sentenced to three years with the final six months suspended.

Sophie Brady, in her latest interview with Miriam, said: "When I heard the sentences and took into account the time off because they were minors, and the additional time off they might possibly get for good behaviour, it's not half of what we originally thought or heard in court.

"I believe that the judges should be able to make allowances," Sophie continued. "It should be case by case, because in my case David and Jonathan were 16 and 17 when the abuse stopped.

"In my opinion 16 and 17 is old enough to know right from wrong and it's old enough to know better. I was also a minor but I wasn't in my late teens, I was seven," she added.

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"It impacts me every single day, it's one of the first things I think about when I wake up and it is the last thing I think about before I go to sleep," Sophie told RTE's Prime Time.

"The sentence is disappointing and it's not what they expected and it's not what they deserve. It's not fair and it's not just, and I didn't want to be just another number," Sophie said.

"Fourteen years is fair because I will carry this with me for a lot longer than fourteen years..."

Sophie Brady speaks with @miriamocal about waiving her anonymity following what she described as the unjust sentencing of her abuser. @rtenews | #rtept pic.twitter.com/iQAa4iQ7wl

— RTÉ Prime Time (@RTE_PrimeTime) April 8, 2025

"I don't stay soundly asleep, I wake up with horrific nightmares. It's taken me a long time to not be angry, to be able to just put one foot infant of the other. That is the challenge," Sophie said. 

"I don't want it to change me my whole entire life, I don't want to become angry and bitter. I want to be able to have some kind of a future, I want to be a great mother. That's what keeps me going is my partner and the thoughts of a positive future," Sophie said.

"I still made it out, I am here and I am alive, and they are still sleeping behind bars tonight and I did that. It may not be for as long as I would of liked but they are still there," Sophie said.