Man jailed for raping housemate

This article contains graphic references to rape and sexual assault. Reader discretion is advised.

By Fiona Ferguson

 A man who sexually assaulted and raped his housemate in a terrifying ordeal that unfolded over a number of days has been jailed for seven years.

The woman, who had recently arrived in Ireland, spoke no English and knew no one else in the country, remained in her room for two days after the initial sexual assault until she was then raped.

The Central Criminal Court heard that she ran from the apartment afterwards and sought help from a passerby, typing “I was raped” into Google Translate on her phone.

The 65-year-old man, who cannot be named to protect the woman’s identity, pleaded guilty to sexual assault of the woman on October 19, 2022, and raping her on October 21, 2022. He has no previous convictions.

Passing sentence on Friday, Mr Justice Paul McDermott said this had been a very frightening ordeal for the woman which extended over several days. He said the initial assault had clearly terrified her and rendered her effectively a prisoner in her own room, until the awful experience two days later when she was raped.

He noted the events still deeply affect her physically and mentally, impacting on her sense of security and her attitude to life

The judge set a headline sentence of eight years and six months on the rape count.

Mr Justice McDermott noted that the accused had been a hardworking man since he came to Ireland in 2020 and had not come to any garda attention. He noted that he also had language difficulties, was isolated from his family in custody, and would serve the sentence in Ireland as a foreign national.

He also noted the man’s guilty plea and age in mitigation. He said he was also taking into account that there had been a severe breach of trust, as the man knew the woman had language difficulties and no family in the country.

Mr Justice McDermott imposed concurrent sentences totalling seven years, which he backdated to October 2022, when the man went into custody. He also ordered three years of post-release supervision.

Detective Garda Aisling McDermott of the Divisional Protective Service Unit at Kevin Street, Dublin, told Elis Brennan SC, prosecuting, that the injured party arrived in Ireland about two weeks before the events. She moved into a small apartment, where the accused was the other tenant.

The court heard the accused helped her to get a job and gave her a loan.

On October 19, 2022, the then 25-year-old woman was in the kitchen when the then 63-year-old  accused started to touch her, saying “please, please”, pushed her against a wall and pulled down her trousers. He wanted her to touch him and put her hand on his penis.

The young woman said this disgusted her, so she went to her room, where she remained for two days, afraid to come out.

Two days later he knocked on her door and tried to enter, so she left the room and went to the kitchen. He sat on a chair there touching and rubbing her. He grabbed her when she tried to walk away and pushed her into his bedroom, forcing her face down on the bed.

She fought him and screamed as he tried to remove her clothing before he raped her. She managed to push him off and run back to her room. He attempted to follow her but went back to his own room.

She took the opportunity to run from the apartment and sought help from a girl outside, using Google translate to type “I was raped”. Gardai were alerted and came to the scene.

Gardai spoke to the accused man, and he accepted he had sex but said it was consensual. He said she started crying and he stopped but later said he did not put his penis into her vagina or ejaculate.

During an examination at the Sexual Assault Treatment Unit, swabs were taken from the injured party’s vagina, and semen was found with the DNA matching the accused man.

In her victim impact statement, the woman told the court that she was physically unwell for three months after the assault. She said she was left homeless and “out on the street.”

She said she had come to Ireland with lots of dreams, but they all fell apart. She said it was a “very hard blow” to be raped in an unknown country, where she was alone and did not speak the language. She said her life and attitudes have been changed and she has been deeply affected.

Gerardine Small SC, defending, said her client wishes to apologise for his outrageous behaviour.

She asked the court to take into account his guilty plea, lack of prior convictions and strong work history. She said he had indicated remorse and submitted that time in custody would be more difficult for him as an isolated foreign national. He has been using his time in custody productively.