A Portuguese man has been jailed for eight years at the Central Criminal Court for the rape and coercive control of his wife.
Sergio Correia (48), of Front Street, Ardara, Co Donegal, was convicted by a jury of two counts of anal rape and one count of coercive control of Kathleen Correia in 2019.
Kathleen Correia (41) waived her legal right to anonymity to allow him to be named. Reading a victim impact to the court, she said the abuse was the worst violation a husband can commit against his wife.
“The worst violation a husband can commit against his wife is to rape, abuse, objectify and degrade her. It’s a breach of trust and respect that has had severe implications and long-lasting emotional scars for me. I have not been able to engage in an intimate relationship and I don’t know if I ever will without feeling afraid, traumatised and fragile,” said Ms Correia.
The court heard the couple met when Kathleen was on holidays in Portugal in 2006, and they later moved to Ireland.
Detective Garda Paula Griffin told Garnet Orange SC, prosecuting, that the couple married in 2012. In 2018, they made the decision to return to Portugal to see how it went, but they had difficulties there and returned to Ireland. The court heard that it was in the nine-month period after returning to Ireland that the offending took place.
After they returned to Ireland from Portugal, Correia was extremely frustrated and moody, and she felt like she was walking on eggshells, the court was told. She lived with the dread of intercourse. If there was one night she didn’t have to have intercourse, he would say she “got away last night”.
The court heard she lived in constant fear and had a mental breakdown. She lost 20kg and was sent to adult mental health services.
The offences took place between January and December 2019. The couple attended a concert in Dublin in July 2019 for Sergio’s birthday. Prior to them going to Dublin, he requested they have anal sex. She did not want to participate and had made it quite clear.
The first night the couple had vaginal sex but the second night he started pleading for anal sex, the court heard. She begged him not to, but he flipped her over the bed and penetrated her. She repeatedly told him that it was sore and asked him to stop, but he continued to thrust until he ejaculated.
The court heard he was convicted of a second count of anal rape in the family home when he was again pleading for anal sex, but she repeatedly told him not to.
He was arrested in February 2022 and interviewed at length, but when specific allegations were put to him, he agreed he could not say when Kathleen consented to anal sex. This persisted in each of the allegations that were put to him, the court was told.
Det Gda Griffin told the court Correia had no previous convictions. The trial commenced on May 24th and ended on June 10th.
Ciaran O’Loughlin SC, defending, said there was a large amount of drugs and alcohol affecting Correia's behaviour at the time of the incident at the hotel.
He told the court there was a letter from him in which there was “a very fulsome apology”.
“I’ve learned from the mistakes I’ve made… I understand she may never forgive me… I wish I could go back in time,” the letter read.
“I take responsibility… I hid behind drugs… I must also apologise to my three beautiful children,” he added.
Mr O’Loughlin said his client did not meet criteria for personality disorder but was at high risk of suicide. He said his client should be referred to addiction services following release.
He said his client was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma in 2012 but did not have his most recent treatment on October 2nd as planned.
Mr O’Loughlin said a probation report had put his client at a medium risk of reoffending. His father was unwell. He said his client’s expression of remorse was thorough.
Ms Justice Melanie Greally imposed a nine-and-and-a-half-year sentence on each of the two counts of rape and suspended the final 18 months.
She also imposed a two-and-a-half-year sentence to run concurrently, on the count of coercive control, backdating it for time spent in custody.
Ms Justice Greally ordered him to undergo post-release supervision of the probation services and be assessed for domestic abuse and sexual abuse programmes.
The judge also ordered that he attend an addiction counsellor as well as Alcoholics Anonymous. She ordered that he have no contact with the victim without her consent.
The judge said mitigating factors included the absence of previous convictions, that there was some evidence of remorse, and a loss of his relationship with his children.
She also took account of his mental health difficulties and suicidal ideation, and long history of drug and alcohol abuse.
The judge said she took into account his good conduct in prison and character evidence before the court as well as the content of a probation report and, to a very limited extent, the psychological report.
Ms Justice Greally said that Correia showed “very little insight” in his psychology report which showed a “high level of self-pity”.
He is placed at moderate risk of re-offending by the probation services, and it is their opinion he will continue offending in relationships. The probation report put him at low risk of reoffending for sex offences.
