A beauty salon owner who raped and tied up a woman while two children were in the house, has been jailed for 11 years at the Central Criminal Court.
Tomas Kleinas (48) of Victorine Abbey, Trim, Co Meath pleaded guilty to raping the woman in Co Meath on July 25th, 2020. A number of other sexual offences were taken into account.
The court heard the woman was also badly injured and tied up by Kleinas during the incident. The victim wished for Kleinas to be named, but to maintain her anonymity.
The victim described how Kleinas locked the front door of the house and told the woman he wanted to talk to her. They went to the bedroom and he began choking her while she was holding an eight-month-old baby in her arms.
He told her he’d “f**kin kill the baby”. She said she was losing consciousness, but he wouldn’t stop. He told her to calm the baby down and stop it crying.
When the baby was put to bed, he then demanded she strip naked. He then sexually assaulted and raped her. The baby woke up as he was hitting her and he said he hated her and the child.
Another 12-year-old child was in the house at the time, the court heard. Kleinas took a knife and said he wanted to smash her teeth in. She said her eye was sore from where he had hit her.
The incident came to a halt because her uncle knocked on the front door and asked to come in for a cup of tea. Kleinas told the woman to lie down and he tied her limbs up and blindfolded her. He then raped her again while his eyes were still covered.
The next day the woman reported the incident to gardaí and was brought to the Sexual Assault Treatment Unit where extensive bruising was found on her body which was consistent with the assaults and with being tied up.
Kleinas told gardaí when interviewed that the sex was consensual.
A probation report stated Kleinas continues to dispute being violent and says he was the wronged party.
He pleaded guilty but only at the 11th hour, said Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring while imposing sentence on Wednesday. The victim was travelling to Ireland when she was notified of the plea.
The court heard the probation services said he is an unsuitable candidate.
The judge said Kleinas has shown little remorse and had come to the court at a very late stage to admit his actions where empathy towards his victim was minimal.
While he is at a low risk of reoffending the view of the Director of Public Prosecutions was that it was in the more serious category. The judge said a 15-year headline sentence was appropriate.
She took account of his plea which meant the victim did not have to relive the events.
She noted he only had minor convictions dating back to 2006. Justice Ring sentenced Kleinas to 13 years in prison and suspended the final two years on strict conditions.
The court heard Kleinas came to Ireland in the early 2000s after the breakdown of his first marriage and worked initially in construction. His second wife died from illness, the court was told. It also heard he opened a successful beauty salon, employing a number of people and continues to do so to this day.
