A man has been jailed for seven-and-a-half years for the rape of his wife’s friend in a Dublin park almost five years ago.
The woman, who waived her right to anonymity, told the court at the sentencing hearing of Aidan Kestell (55) how she was a “waking corpse” in the aftermath.
Reading from her victim impact statement, she spoke of the effect of the “atrocious attack” on her and her family. The “dramatic ripple effects of sexual assault on friends and family can’t be stressed enough,” she said.
Kestell was convicted of rape after a four-day trial at the Central Criminal Court last month. The offence took place on September 6th, 2019, at Hartstown Park, Hartstown, Dublin 15. Kestell raped the woman in a park after walking her home from a party at his house.
Kestell, of Briarwood Lawn, Dublin 15, has no previous convictions. On Friday, Mr Justice Tony Hunt set a headline sentence of nine years for the rape.
Crime of revenge
He said this was a single incident but one with appalling and enduring consequences. He described it as a “crime of violence and revenge”, for which Kestell will pay a serious price.
Mr Justice Hunt said his actions were intentional and knowing, and there was nothing reckless about it.
He said there were few enough mitigating factors and he was not inclined to agree that there had been a high degree of co-operation. He noted Kestell had first denied the offences and then gave a “grudging acceptance” that it had come about in “a preposterous way.”
The judge said he utterly failed to see how that could be co-operation with the investigation.
He said the best that could be said for Kestell was that he had got to his 50s without previous offending and was of good character with a good work history to the point where he got into this difficulty.
He noted there would be serious consequences for him that would last the rest of his life.
Mr Justice Hunt reduced the sentence to eight years and suspended the final six months. He ordered that the man be of good behaviour for three years post release and have no contact with the woman or her family.
Mr Justice Hunt wished the woman well and said he hoped her way was a bit clearer now this part of the ordeal was out of the way.
At an earlier hearing, the woman said the sentencing hearing was an important step as it would close the “four-and-a-half year sentence I've served since the attack”.
“This part of my ordeal is over. Today I’m no longer a victim but a rape survivor.”
She said her partner, children and friends watched her transform afterwards into a “shell” of who she used to be.
Safety
She spoke of experiencing anxiety, irritability, paranoia, emotional numbness and extreme worry. She would “obsessively” check windows and doors were securely locked as she didn't feel safe because “this dangerous man” knew where she lived.
Her whole life and routine changed in the aftermath of the attack, and her old self was gone. “She may as well have died that night; that’s how I felt,” she said.
She said her “beautiful, happy home was destroyed” as a “dark cloud was hanging over us”.
The woman spoke about experiencing nightmares and learning the “real nightmare began each morning when I had to continue with my life... I was a waking corpse”.
She said she still has gaps in the timeline and “unanswered questions” from that night that she hoped would be answered during the trial.
“Those don’t matter now. I leave them to your conscience”.
The woman suggested Kestell thought she wouldn't come around, continuing, “Bet you thought you’d got away with it”.
She described him as “manipulative”, “vile” and a “compulsive liar.”
“I've no noun to describe you. I wouldn’t put you with any normal man,” she said, adding that he's shown no remorse for his actions.
“I'm overjoyed your web of lies that you tried to spin has untangled... the life you once had is over”.
Victims
Addressing victims of sexual assault, she said while they may feel “so very alone”, she hoped sharing her story would help them see “you are not isolated”.
“I never thought I’d get to this part. I implore you not to give up. The silence will stop. Your voice will be heard, and you will have your day”.
Mr Justice Hunt thanked the woman for her eloquent statement.
Garda Leona Bellow told Sean Gillane SC, prosecuting, that the victim was a longstanding friend of Kestell's wife and was among the guests at a party in his house on the night in question.
During the evening, Kestell walked in on her when she was in the bathroom. In her evidence during the trial, the victim said she wasn't upset by it but thought it “a bit strange”.
When she was leaving, her friend insisted Kestell walk her home. She was reluctant but eventually agreed.
The woman stopped several times during the walk to tell Kestell she was fine and could walk the rest of the way alone, but he insisted on walking with her.
After reaching Hartstown Park, the next thing the victim remembered was lying on the ground in agony. She realised she was being raped, and she then tried to fight off her attacker, who she realised was Kestell.
After Kestell left, the victim made her way home, arriving around 3am.
The court heard the woman spent the weekend trying to process what had happened before going to a friend's house the following Monday and telling her about the rape.
She then contacted a sexual assault treatment unit and made a complaint to gardaí.
Messages
The court was told the woman had also been receiving a large number of messages from an anonymous sender for several years before this incident.
She told her partner and friends about this, and they unsuccessfully tried to identify the sender.
During the investigation, gardaí traced the messages, some of which were sexual and explicit, to a phone owned by Kestell.
Kestell was arrested and interviewed several times. He initially denied any sexual interaction with the victim before claiming that she initiated sexual contact by performing oral sex.
In another interview, he claimed sex took place accidentally after he fell on top of her with his penis exposed. Kestell told gardaí: “I'm not sure if I entered her... the ground was wet and slippy, I could have slipped in.”
Kestell gave evidence during the trial, admitting he told some lies to gardaí. He said there had been a consensual sexual interaction with the victim on the night in question.
Gda Bellew agreed with Dominic McGinn SC, defending, that his client answered all questions put to him by gardaí and handed over phones and clothing.
Mr McGinn asked the court to take into account the “limited” mitigating factors including his client's lack of previous convictions and co-operation with gardaí.
After the judge noted that Kestell was “not particularly truthful” in his dealing with gardaí, Mr McGinn noted that his client did not obstruct the investigation.
Mr McGinn said his client has a solid work history and is a father of three adult children. He told the court that Kestell's marriage is “no longer viable” since his conviction.
He submitted to the court this was an opportunistic crime, which involved no violence beyond that of the act itself.
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
