A former male model has been jailed for four years for raping a fellow college student.
A Central Criminal Court jury found Utseoritselaju Uwatse (25) of Avonmore Road, Raheen, Limerick, guilty of a single count of rape in March this year. The offence took place on April 20, 2018. He has no previous convictions.
The injured party, Danielle Lyons, waived her anonymity in order to name Uwatse.
Detective Garda McGrath told Conor Devally, SC, prosecuting, that on the night in question, a group of college students gathered for drinks in Cratloe Student Village to celebrate two birthdays before going into Limerick city for a night out.
Det Gda McGrath said one of the members of the group was Danielle Lyons, who said in her evidence that the group went to Smyth's pub and then onto Molloy’s late bar in Limerick. Here she met Uwatse, whom she knew socially.
CCTV footage of Uwatse and Ms Lyons hugging was shown to the court, and then Ms Lyons returned to socialising with her group of friends. Ms Lyons and another friend left the pub and returned to the student village, where a number of parties were taking place in different apartments.
The court heard that at one stage, Uwatse picked Ms Lyons up and carried her into a bedroom and lay her on the bed, where she remembered him removing her shoes before falling asleep. She woke early the following morning, and her clothes did not feel right, and she could feel pressure in her vagina.
Ms Lyons told the court that Uwatse was beside her, and he asked her if she “was on the pill”. She found this question unusual, and he then told her that they had sex and that the condom had broken. She realised she had not consented to this and became upset.
The court heard that Uwatse left the apartment, and gardaí were called. He was arrested and questioned in June 2018 and told gardaí that the sex had been consensual.
Reading her victim impact statement to the court, Ms Lyons said: “I don’t think there are any words that would convey the damage that you have done”, and: “The woman who is here today is broken down”. She also said: “I felt guilty for the heaviness I brought to my friends and family.”
Det Gda McGrath agreed with Seamus Clarke, SC, defending, that his client was born in Nigeria and moved to Ireland as a child. He said that at the time of the offence, his client was twenty years of age.
The garda agreed with counsel that Uwatse had enjoyed success as a model and was involved in athletics when he was younger.
Sentencing Uwatse Mr Justice Paul Burns said rape was a serious crime, and he agreed that Uwatse deserved a headline sentence of between seven and 10 years.
He noted Uwatse had a “promising future” ahead of him before this offence, and noted he has no previous convictions. He said he hoped that Ms Lyons, with the support of her family and friends, would be able to put the matter behind her as best as she could.
Mr Clarke said his client was living and working in the UK and was about to board a flight to Milan for a modelling job when he became aware that the gardaí wished to speak with him. He said Uwatse surrendered himself to the UK police and returned to Ireland for questioning.
Counsel said that both of Uwatse’s biological parents and his stepmother now all live in Nigeria, his sibling lives in the United States, and he has no family in this country.
He said his client has no previous convictions, has a good work ethic and was polite and cooperative with gardaí.
He asked the court to be as lenient as possible and that his client is sorry for the hurt that he had caused.
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.
