A Kilkenny man who raped a 13-year-old girl andclaimed that he “honestly did not know” the victim’s age has been jailed.
Michael O’Reilly (29) of St Marys Crescent, Hebron Road, Kilkenny, pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to rape at a place in Dublin on April 11th, 2021.
Passing sentence on Monday, Ms Justice Eileen Creedon said the victim was a child and the accused was a much older male. She said the girl “made it known in advance of meeting him that she did not wish to have sex” but he used his “dominance”.
Ms Justice Creedon sentenced O’Reilly to nine years in prison, with the final 18 months suspended. He must remain under the supervision of the Probation Services for 18 months and follow all directions as outlined by them. He must also be registered as a sex offender and his sentence backdated from when he went into custody.
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At an earlier hearing, Det Gda Darragh McNally told Fergal Foley BL, prosecuting, that a 17-year-old boy who the victim knew had contacted her on Snapchat and asked her if she could meet up for “feeking”, a “colloquial term for sexual intercourse”.
She agreed to meet for sexual intercourse but when asked by the boy if she would “engage in feeking” with O’Reilly, she said no.
She and a female friend went to a petrol station and O’Reilly arrived in a car with the teenage boy and a third man. The girls got in and the car was driven for about ten minutes to a gated field.
Everyone got out of the car and walked a little way and the girl and the teenager went behind some bushes and had sex. The court heard that “as soon as the other male had finished, the accused man came over and tried to persuade her to engage in sex”.
The court heard she said no. The accused kept pleading with her to have sex but she continually refused. He then forced the girl to the ground and raped her.
She was very upset afterwards, the court heard. The men dropped the two girls back at the petrol station and they then got on a bus. The victim told her friend what had happened.
She became upset and hysterical and her friend phoned the other man and began shouting at him. A woman on the bus overheard the conversation, approached the girls, and advised them to report what happened to An Garda Síochána.
The victim did go to the gardaí and O’Reilly was arrested and questioned. He denied anything to do with the events of the night and when shown the CCTV footage from the bus of the upset girl, he said, “That’s nothing to do with me” and “It doesn’t make me feel anything ‘cos I didn’t do anything”.
He was rearrested months later when forensic test results came back matching his DNA to semen taken from the girl’s body during a sexual assault treatment examination. He was charged and, in February last, sent forward for trial.
In a letter of apology, he claimed he “honestly didn’t know” that the girl was aged 13 and said he was ashamed and disgusted with himself.
In a victim impact report, the girl stated that she was a child and “this monster took away my childhood”. She said that after the rape, she left school and turned to drink and tablets to cope.
“My whole life changed. He took a part of me. I’m hurting so bad. I’ll never be myself again,” she wrote. She said she blamed herself at times and felt so dirty “and even dirtier when people found out”.
A charge of engaging in a sexual act with a child, or defilement, was preferred against the teenage boy but a nolle prosequi was entered on March 16th when the accused pleaded to the rape charge.
James Dwyer SC, defending, said his client has worked in block laying and is involved with a boxing club.
In a letter to the victim, O’Reilly stated: “I would like to apologise to you for what happened. I am ashamed and disgusted with myself. I honestly did not know your age.
“I hope you can put what happened behind you and have a good life.”