'I have a life sentence from what he done' - Tracy Jessop speaks on her ex-husband's rape conviction
Hannah Kate Costello
Tracey Jessop sat down with Kieran Cuddihy on RTÉ Liveline on Thursday, July 31st, to describe, in her own words, the five-year process that ended with her ex-husband Joseph Jessop being jailed on three counts of rape.
When asked whether the day of the verdict felt like a victory or simply the end of a bad chapter, she said that it was good "to finally, after five years, get a result" but was quick to add that there is no "magic switch that switches off everything."
Jessop told Cuddihy she met her then husband in 1998, on Valentine's Day, in a nightclub in Mullingar. She was 15, and he was 17.
They married in 2008 and were together for 22 years before separating. She said that warning signals - accusations of infidelity, and a violent temper - were there early, but with young children and a house being built, "you just write it off" as a rough patch.
She dated the real deterioration to 2014-2015, describing how she gradually wore down from an outgoing, social person into someone who normalised behaviour she recognised as abuse.
The relationship ended in April 2020, though the couple still lived together. The first assault she formally reported came that November. She said that her ex-husband held her head down, punched her, and headbutted her hard enough that she "did see stars."
She went to a GP and then A&E, but didn't file a garda report for several months.
The trial centred on two further incidents in 2021, both while the pair were separated but still sharing a house - one in her old bedroom on February 6th and another in the sitting room on March 29th after he returned from a weekend away pressing her to reconcile.
Jessop said that the second assault, where he orally raped her, made her physically ill, and that after the third assault her ex-husband contacted Tusla that same day with allegations against her. That, she revealed, were the hardest parts: "I felt like I was a guilty person proving my innocence."
The trial itself ran for roughly two weeks. Giving evidence, a day and a half on the stand, with her former husband nearby, was the hardest part, she said, "reliving everything." He denied the charges throughout, including in his own testimony, and continued to deny them at the time of the interview.
Joseph Jessop was sentenced to 11-and-a-half years, reduced to 10. Jessop said she was satisfied with the outcome, even while believing she carries "a life sentence" of her own - but that he's "been held accountable for his actions."
Her five children have had no contact with their father for five years, formalised by a Tullamore court order in 2022.
She described ongoing panic attacks and said she still carries a small purple teddy bear that got her through two days of testimony. Asked if she was becoming the person she used to be, she was candid: "I don't even know if I know who that person is anymore. You lose your identity when a lot goes on."
It was noted in the interview that marital rape was only criminalised in Ireland in 1990, and Jessop believes that there are many more women in similar situations.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help.
Alternatively, you can contact Women’s Aid (24-hour freephone helpline at 1800-341 900, email helpline@womensaid.ie) or Men’s Aid Ireland (confidential helpline at 01-554 3811, email hello@mensaid.ie) for support and information.
Safe Ireland also offers a number of local services and helplines at safeireland.ie/get-help/where-to-find-help/. In the case of an emergency, always dial 999/112.
