A mechanic who raped a woman at her house in a “flagrant abuse of their friendship” has been jailed for seven years.
Mutlu Dalar was convicted by a Central Criminal Court jury in January of anally raping the woman at her home on June 8th, 2019.
Dalar, of Dublin Street, Ballyjamesduff, Co Cavan, had pleaded not guilty. At a previous sentencing hearing, his counsel John Byrne SC told Mr Justice Tony Hunt that the 42-year-old “accepts the jury verdict but does not agree with it”.
The court heard the woman in the case wanted Dalar to be named but wished to retain her own anonymity.
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On the day of the offence, Dalar telephoned the woman and she invited him to her house for tea. When he was there he tried to kiss her, but she told him no as she was with someone else.
The woman was walking Dalar out after they had tea and he grabbed her in the hallway and pinned her against the banisters of the stairs. He pulled down her trousers and underwear and anally raped her.
Froze
Monica Lawlor SC, prosecuting, told the court that the woman repeatedly told Dalar to stop and later told gardaí that she froze.
Dalar left after the rape and the woman contacted a friend in a distressed state. She was medically examined and there was physical evidence of “recent trauma” in her genital area, the court heard. Dalar was arrested in July 2019 and claimed that the sexual activity was consensual. He was charged and remanded in custody but was later released on High Court bail.
In a victim impact statement, the woman said she was “a bubbly friendly person” who never saw any wrong in anyone before the incident.
Since the attack she had has to take medication to deal with the effects and with panic attacks. She said she does not feel safe in her own home anymore. “I feel like something inside of me is completely broken and I cannot get it back.”
The woman said she relives the attack every day and suffers from flashbacks and horrible nightmares. Being questioned about the rape in court made her feel like she was the one who had done something wrong and she got physically sick on her way home from court, she said.
Mr Byrne told the court that Dalar is a father of one and remains friends with his ex-partner. Counsel handed in a testimonial from Dalar’s ex-partner and employer, who is aware of the nature of the conviction and “has no issue with continuing his employment”. He said the remainder of the references were from the accused’s friends.
‘Flagrant abuse’
Sentencing Dalar on Friday, Mr Justice Hunt said the defendant’s actions were a “flagrant abuse of the sanctity of (the woman’s) dwelling, a flagrant abuse of their friendship and a flagrant abuse of the hospitality she extended to him on this occasion”.
He noted the pain and humiliation suffered by the woman in the course of the offending and how she found the trial process difficult. “I’m not sure how the trial process can be made painless and simple,” the judge said. “These are complicated matters.”
He said he hoped the woman was comforted by the jury’s guilty verdict.
The judge took into account a number of mitigating factors, including Dalar’s previous good character and lack of relevant previous convictions. He sentenced him to eight years and suspended the final year on a number of conditions including that Dalar have no contact with the woman without her permission.