A man who showed a “callous disregard” by sexually assaulting his former partner twice has been handed a prison sentence of 11½ years.
The 41-year-old man, who cannot be identified to protect the anonymity of the victim, was on the sex offenders register for a previous sexual assault when this offence took place.
The man was convicted of rape and anal rape at his apartment in Co Laois in August 2016 following a trial at the Central Criminal Court last March. He was acquitted of charges of false imprisonment and making a threat to kill.
The man had pleaded not guilty to all the charges and does not accept the verdict of the jury.
He has a number of previous convictions including assault of his partner in February 2016 and the sexual assault of a 17-year-old girl in 2007.
Imposing sentence on both counts of rape on Monday, Justice Kerida Naidoo said there had been a “significant breach of trust” as the accused had attacked the woman at a place she would have considered home.
Justice Naidoo handed the accused a custodial sentence of 13½ years, with the final two years suspended on strict conditions backdated to March 28th, 2022.
'Terrified, afraid and in shock'
The court had previously heard that the man raped the woman twice in his apartment in a town in Co Laois on August 16th, 2016. The couple were in a relationship at that time and the woman had recently given birth to their child.
Following a meeting with a social welfare officer, the accused asked the woman to go to bed with him, saying he was tired. She refused and he grabbed her, taking her to the bedroom where he raped her.
The woman told gardaí that she said to him: “No stop doing this, you know I don't want this”, but he continued to rape her.
The woman said she was horrified when she realised what the man was doing and “she froze a little”.
She said she felt terrified, afraid and in shock. The woman fought back and tried to push the accused away, but ran out of energy to continue.
The woman later called gardaí from her own apartment.
A medical report recorded that some swabs could not be taken due to the injuries sustained by the woman. Bruising to her back and neck and marks on her left shoulder consistent with a bite mark were also recorded.
Voluntary statement
The accused made a voluntary statement to gardaí at the time.
Following his arrest in March 2017, the man claimed the sexual activity was consensual. He also said the woman was making a false complaint to obtain sole custody of their child.
Justice Naidoo said he accepted the prosecution's argument that the accused's previous convictions for assaulting his partner and sexually assaulting another young woman were aggravating factors.
The accused had showed a “callous disregard” for the victim by raping her for a second time, Justice Naidoo said, which was an additional aggravating factor.
The woman had suffered physical harm and injuries as a result of the incident.
Justice Naidoo set a headline sentence of 10 years in relation to the count of rape and 13½ years for the count of anal rape. He said the court did not accept a claim by the defence that the meeting with a social welfare officer should be considered as a mitigating factor.
Justice Naidoo said the mitigating factors “were not very strong” as there was no guilty plea or expressions of remorse. However, he noted that the accused did offer some co-operation to gardaí.
The man also has a history of depression and has a minor intellectual disability, the court heard. Justice Naidoo said there is no evidence to suggest the defendant has a low ability to discern right and wrong.
A probation report concluded that the accused is at medium risk of re-offending.
A psychological assessment and the probation report stated the accused had been the victim of sexual abuse himself as a child, though gardaí do not have a record of any complaint.
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.
In the case of an emergency, always dial 999/112.
