This article contains references to rape and sexual assault. Reader discretion is advised.
By Sonya McLean
A man who raped a woman while she was sleeping and continued to rape her after she managed to escape the first attack, has been jailed for seven years at the Central Criminal Court.
The 37-year-old man pleaded guilty to two charges of rape on September 29, 2019. The father of five has a number of previous convictions, both in Ireland and outside the jurisdiction. He can’t be named to protect the woman’s right to anonymity.
The woman said in her victim impact statement that she had managed to get away from the man that night, but he followed her and continued to rape her. She said she felt as if she were “a rag doll” during the rape.
She said that because of the anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder she has suffered as a result of the rapes, she finds herself locking herself in her bedroom at home.
She has missed out on many special occasions with her children as a result. She described having a panic attack at her son’s First Communion after she struggled to attend it in the first instance.
“I feel a failure as a Mum,” she said and described herself as feeling like “a prisoner in my own home”.
“I have lost the years my children needed me the most, important years that I will not get back,” she continued, adding that her youngest child sees her locked away in a room crying a lot, and with her older children, it seems as if they are caring for her rather than her for caring for them.
She said today she was “passing the shame on to him (the accused)– because I don’t deserve the shame”.
In an updated statement read to the court, the woman said that she previously believed crying to be a sign of weakness, but now feels it is not.
She said the words in her statement reflected her strength and that she is a “strong woman who survived that night” and did not give up, despite delays in the legal process.
“I kept fighting and kept going because of my strength”, she said, adding that she wanted to show other victims that it is possible to cry and have anxiety while fighting for justice.
Addressing the man, she said that while she wished she could forgive him, she had “never once felt remorse or guilt for you what you did”.
She said she does not believe that the man feels these emotions at this time. The woman told the man that she hopes he reflects on his actions, that his attitude towards women changes and he learns to treat them with respect.
She told him she hopes he completes his sentence and never makes a woman feel worthless or disrespected again.
Mr Justice Paul Burns imposed a sentence of eight years, with the final 12 months suspended on strict conditions for three years in order to encourage rehabilitation.
Mr Justice Burns noted the man appeared to have singled out the woman for “unwanted attention” and ignored her rejections of his advances.
He said the man took advantage of the woman’s “sleeping and probably intoxicated condition”, ignored her protests, appeared to mock her and used a degree of violence beyond that inherent in the act of rape.
The judge noted the mitigation, including the man’s guilty plea. He directed the man to place himself under the supervision of the Probation Service for three years post-release, and that the defendant is to be given credit for any time served in custody on this matter alone.
Mr Justice Burns noted the impact of the offending on the woman, who he said had “found the strength to speak up in court today”, and acknowledged that the legal process had been difficult for her.
He commended her bravery in coming forward and said the court hoped with the support of her family and friends and appropriate interventions, she would make further progress in dealing with the aftermath of these events.
A local sergeant told Bernard Condon SC, prosecuting, at an earlier sentence hearing that the man was visiting family in County Donegal when his cousin was out socialising with the victim. He joined them, and over the course of the evening, he regularly engaged in conversation with the woman.
At one point, he put his hand on her leg, but she pushed him away. On another occasion, he grabbed her while she was passing by and danced with her in a provocative way. She again pushed him away.
On the car journey home, which they shared with several other people, he told her he couldn’t wait to get her home, advising her that by the time he was done with her, she would be pregnant with another child.
The man offered her vodka in the car, but when she said she would not drink it because it caused her to black out, the man replied, “All the better”. She ultimately gave in and took a sip of the vodka.
The sergeant told Mr Condon that when they reached the woman’s friend’s house, the man continued to speak to the woman in a sexualised way. She struggled to keep her eyes open and eventually fell asleep on a couch.
She woke to find the man trying to kiss her while he was raping her. She told him to stop and said she didn’t want this. She continued to wriggle and try to escape before she managed to get off the couch.
The woman said she tried to get up off the floor but was unable to get to her feet, and he attacked her again, raping her and leaving her in intense pain. He ripped her underwear during the assault.
He finally lay down next to her. She picked up her clothing, got dressed and left the house. The rape was reported, and she was treated in her local Sexual Assault Treatment Unit, and she was found to have injuries both to her general body and her genitalia.
The man was arrested and interviewed, and while he initially denied there was any contact between them, he was re-arrested following DNA analysis. He then accepted that if anything had happened, he had been asleep at the time and couldn’t offer any further explanation.
The woman prepared a victim impact statement, which was read into the record by the investigating sergeant.
She said that the impact of what the man did to her that night has followed her for six years.
She described his behaviour as “disgusting and unforgivable”. She said she suffered panic attacks and sleep deprivation, and now needs medication for anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.
She said she finds herself being “hyper vigilant and being on high alert” – she struggles to relax.
The woman said she has found herself unable to work on several occasions and has experienced panic attacks while at work.
She said the rape has impacted her confidence and sanity. She said she feels as if she can see the man’s face everywhere, and it feels as if she is shutting down, and she struggles to breathe. She said this continues until her “brain kicks in” and she realises it is not the accused.
The woman said she was thankful for her family and thanked her husband for his support.
Dominic McGinn SC, defending, said his client was not from Ireland and was visiting family that night. He has five children from two different relationships.
He asked Mr Justice Burns to take into account his client’s pleas of guilty as the most significant mitigating factors in the case.
Mr Justice Burns suggested that the man’s comments to the woman over the course of the night were “indicative of some element of premeditation”.
The judge advised the woman that she was entitled to apply to the criminal injuries tribunal in relation to the cost of her medication and on account of any earnings she may have lost due to the impact the rape had on her.