By Fiona Ferguson and Isabel Hayes
A man who orally raped, assaulted, threatened and strangled a woman who offered him hospitality has been jailed for seven and a half years.
The Central Criminal Court heard that the woman had allowed Brian Carrie, 39, to stay in her home after he left an addiction treatment centre.
Carrie, of Rutland Grove, Crumlin, Dublin, pleaded guilty to oral rape, criminal damage, assault, production of knives, strangulation and making threats to kill or cause serious harm to the woman at her home on dates in October 2024.
He has 49 previous convictions, but nothing of a similar nature to these offences.
Passing sentence today, Mr Justice Tony Hunt said that although the relationship only lasted for a number of weeks, it was characterised by “violence, intimidation, coercion and control” by Carrie and culminated in serious sexual offending.
He said the woman was left in a state of acute fear in the wake of the strangulation offence, noting that this is an “inherently dangerous form of violence”.
He noted the enduring nature the offending has had on her and the fact it occurred in the context of an intimate relationship.
“The hospitality and support she offered him at a difficult time of his life were roundly abused by him,” the judge said.
An investigating garda told Fiona Murphy SC, prosecuting, that the pair began a short relationship after the man left an addiction treatment centre.
The court heard the relationship worsened over time.
She had to delete Snapchat and could not talk to anyone in case he got jealous.
On one occasion he was annoyed after she received a message.
They had an argument and she wanted him to leave.
She closed the front door and he kicked it open.
Later during an assault on the woman in her living room, Carrie produced two large kitchen knives while she pleaded with him to stop.
He also smashed her mirror.
She fled upstairs and he followed her up, tossed a phone at her and told her to call the gardai.
When he returned to the house an hour later, she was unable to stop him as the door was broken.
He was verbally abusive towards her, blaming her for the events.
On another occasion, Carrie grabbed her by the neck and squeezed, leaving her fearing she was going to die.
She believed she may have passed out and he was still leaning over her when she came to.
She managed to push him off her and tried to catch her breath.
Carrie told her if she did not perform oral sex on him he would kill her.
She felt she had no choice as she was afraid he was going to kill her.
Afterwards he again told her it was all her fault.
On the final occasion, she said she had had enough and told Carrie she did not want to be with him anymore.
He told her he would break every door and window in her house, before burning it down with her inside.
He left for the pub and the woman contacted gardai. He was arrested.
In her victim impact statement, the woman outlined how her life had been greatly affected by the man’s offending.
She said she suffers with anxiety, flashbacks, and difficulty sleeping.
The court heard of the courage and strength it had taken for her to come to court as she was so scared of seeing the man again.
She said it would take her a long time to get over the events.
“It was the most terrifying thing that has ever happened to me,” she told the court.
Carrie took the stand and said he wanted to apologise to the woman for his actions which he regrets deeply.
He said he wishes her no harm and hopes the best for her in the future.
He told Eileen O’Leary SC, defending, that he was clean of drugs and methadone.
Ms O’Leary handed in affidavits from the man’s family outlining their experiences of him.
She submitted the offending occurred when the accused was heavily involved in drugs and alcohol.
The court heard that a Probation Services report placed Carrie at a high risk of sexual re-offending in an intimate relationship and that he had limited victim awareness.
However, he had expressed a willingness to engage with the service.
Mr Justice Hunt set a headline sentence of 12 years which he reduced to nine years taking mitigating factors into account, including Carrie’s guilty pleas, history of addiction and background of social disadvantage.
He suspended the final 18 months of that sentence on a number of conditions, including that he have no contact with the victim for an “indefinite period” and that he engage in domestic violence and victim awareness programmes.
He commended the victim for coming forward about the offending.
He said he wished to assure her that she will not hear from Carrie again.