Offaly man jailed for rape of young woman

by Claire Henry

An Offaly man has been sentenced to six years in prison for the rape of a young woman in 2022.

The Central Criminal Court heard that the man who is now in his late twenties pleaded guilty to rape on February 4, 2022, in the university accommodation they were both living in at the time. He has no previous convictions.

Passing sentence today (Tuesday) Mr Justice Paul McDermott said, “This is a case where a young man took advantage of an intoxicated woman.” He said the defendant has “not exhibited any sense of remorse except an apology at the very end.”

Mr Justice McDermott said he would consider the defendant's guilty plea as a mitigating factor, along with the testimonies given to the court on his behalf, which speak to the man's character in the past and his “decent” nature.

The judge noted that this defendant had maintained steady employment in the past and had the support of his family and partner.

Mr Justice McDermott sentenced the man to six years in prison and placed him under post-release supervision for a period of three years. He outlined that the defendant must carry out all directions deemed necessary by the Probation Services. The judge also directed the defendant to have no contact with the injured party or her family in this case.

At an earlier hearing, Garda Damien Travers told Tony McGillicuddy, SC, prosecuting, that on the night in question, a group of students were drinking in a corridor in the accommodation.

Both the injured party and the defendant were in this group. The group spent time in the dorm rooms before going to a bar. In her statement to the gardai, the injured party said she became drunk and could not remember leaving the bar.

The court heard that her memory of the night came back to her in “clips.” She remembered being back in the “long corridor”, and the accused was curled up asleep on the floor.

She then remembered being in a bedroom, and the defendant was on top of her. He was trying to kiss her and kept trying to turn her head. The woman also remembered feeling his hand pushing her head onto his penis.

The following morning, a friend of the young woman woke her and brought her to their room. She went to the bathroom to change her clothes and noticed that she was no longer wearing underwear, and there was semen on the inside of her leg.

She told her friends that “we have to go”, and they brought her to get the morning-after pill. They also made an appointment for her to go to a sexual assault treatment unit (SATU).

The court heard that during her examination at SATU, bruises were noted on her legs and swabs were also taken. The injured party made contact with the gardai and made an official statement in May 2022.

The defendant attended a voluntary garda interview and said there had been no sexual contact between the two. DNA swabs were taken from him and sent to Forensic Science Ireland for analysis. His DNA matched the semen swabs taken from the injured party.

The defendant was then charged with rape and entered a guilty plea on the Friday before his trial was due to begin.

A victim impact statement was read to the court on behalf of the injured party, which said:

“Writing this has been one of the hardest things I have ever done.”

“On a college night out, he took advantage of me”.

“I know now that it was not my fault. I had to grow up overnight.”

“Since that night, I have never truly felt safe.”

“Imagine trying to tell your parents that you have been raped – I did. Imagine telling the person you love that your body was violated- I did.”

“I hope the sentence handed down today will reflect the seriousness of what he did. He may one day return to his life, but I will never return to my life.”

“I do not forgive you; I don’t have to.”

The Director of Public Prosecution said that this offence fell in the 7-10 year sentencing category.

Garda Travers agreed with Mark Lynam SC, defending, that his client had dropped out of college after this offence occurred.

The garda agreed with counsel that the accused has not achieved much since he left college.

Mr Lynam said his client has instructed him to apologise wholeheartedly to the injured party.

Counsel said his client has no memory of the offence and that has been his instruction throughout.

The court heard a probation report before the court placed the man at moderate risk of reoffending.

Mr Lynam said the defendant has been extremely upset and has struggled to get to grips with the reality of the situation.  Two letters were handed into the court from his friends who stated that this behaviour is out of character for him and that they can’t believe he is here before the courts.

Counsel said, “This is somewhat of a random event and outlined that it was not targeted.”

He asked the court to take into account his client's guilty plea, which was a valuable factor, as well as his client's lack of prior convictions.