A man who raped a woman in broad daylight continued the attack after local residents told him they were calling the gardaí.
Wayne Higgins (27), of no fixed abode, had been drinking with the woman earlier in Cork city when she asked him to escort her to a bus. His girlfriend had introduced her to Higgins briefly two weeks beforehand.
In her victim impact statement, the woman called Higgins “an animal” and “a danger to vulnerable women”.
“Just because I was drunk – it does not give that animal the right to put his arm around me – never mind penetrate me,” the woman stated.
“He didn’t hesitate to do that in broad daylight,” she continued before she thanked the people who came to her assistance.
On Wednesday, Higgins was jailed for six years by Mr Justice Paul Burns.
Higgins had pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to one count of rape in Cork City on August 28th, 2019.
Detective Garda Michelle Quinn told Garret Baker SC prosecuting that the woman went into Cork city with her boyfriend that day. She was due to start drug rehabilitation in a few days. The couple began drinking with other people, including Higgins.
At one point, her boyfriend left her, and later that day, she asked Higgins to accompany her to a bus stop so she could return home. They stopped en route to have a cigarette in a laneway, and Higgins raped her.
She later told gardaí she was screaming at him to get off her because she had a boyfriend. She felt she could not do anything because she was face down.
The laneway was surrounded by apartments, and a couple looked out on hearing the woman’s screams. They shouted at Higgins to stop, but he replied, “It’s just sex”.
They told him they were calling the gardaí. Higgins remained there for a few minutes before he ran off, and the couple came out to the woman.
The gardaí arrived and discovered documentation bearing Higgins’s name nearby. The woman was not in a fit state to identify her rapist at the time.
Det Gda Quinn said Higgins was ultimately arrested but denied that there had been any sexual interaction between him and the woman. The woman was examined after the rape in a nearby sexual assault treatment unit, and Higgins’ DNA was found inside her body.
The detective said Higgins had been homeless at the time and using the services of the Simon Community for assistance with his addiction issues. He has a number of previous convictions for offences including drugs, robbery, stalking, harassment and breach of a barring order.
The woman stated in her victim impact statement that Higgins’s rape of her was the most horrific day of her life. She described his behaviour as “a brutal act of cowardice”.
She said she has tried to undergo counselling but is not mentally able to do it. She said the rape led to her abusing drugs and alcohol again, and she lost her place in the rehabilitation centre she had been due to attend.
“He is a danger to society and, in particular, vulnerable women,” the woman continued.
“The man is an animal and has damaged me in so many ways,” she said.
Defending counsel said his client had “a significant addiction with drink and alcohol” and had been deemed as a “moderate risk of re-offending”. He acknowledged that it was “a grim case”.
Mr Justice Paul Burns said the woman was intoxicated and vulnerable and Higgins had “betrayed the temporary trust that was placed in him”.
He said he showed a “callous attitude” towards the woman and degraded her in a public place.
Mr Justice Burns set a headline sentence of ten years. He took into account the man’s plea of guilty before he imposed a sentence of seven years.
He suspended the final year of that sentence for three years on the condition that Higgins engage with the Probation Service for those three years and have no contact with the woman, either directly or indirectly.
Mr Justice Burns said he hopes the woman finds the strength to go ahead with counselling.
*This article was corrected at 9.20pm on Wednesday, July 31st, 2024
