A sexual “predator” has been jailed for 15 years for subjecting a woman to “an unspeakable ordeal”.
Martin Burke (28), formerly of Ballinorig Estate, Tralee, Co Kerry, had pleaded guilty to four counts of raping and sexually assaulting the woman at a location in Tralee on December 18th, 2022.
In the Central Criminal Court on Friday, Mr Justice Tony Hunt set a headline sentence of 22 years but reduced this to 17 years after considering the mitigation. He suspended the final two years under strict conditions.
The victim asked that Burke, who had 17 previous convictions, be named but said she wished to retain her anonymity.
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An investigating garda told Eoghan Cole SC, prosecuting, that Burke and the woman, who knew each other, met and were seen on CCTV walking together in the early hours.
They walked up a lane at around 3am and Burke then grabbed the woman by the throat with both hands, dragged her to the ground and tried to strangle her. The woman said she was strangled for a minute or so and could taste blood in her mouth.
The court heard Burke said he would not kill her if she did what he said. He ordered her to take off her trousers and pulled her by her hair into the alleyway while she was crying. He then raped her.
There was a conversation afterwards and she promised she would not tell anyone what had happened. At 5.39am, after she was left alone, the woman called her partner.
The woman happened to be seen by two gardaí on patrol, who noticed her distress and brought to a garda station and then a sexual assault treatment unit, where an examination was carried out.
The woman had significant bruising on her neck and lower limbs, as well as fragments of pine needles on her body, consistent with the attack in the area she described.
Burke was arrested and claimed in interview that what happened was consensual. He has been in custody since January 2023.
The woman he was in a relationship with at the time said Burke’s wet and muddy clothing was left in the washing machine. He also told her what happened was consensual but that he did feel guilty for cheating on his fiancee.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, the woman said she feared for her life during the incident. She said she did nothing wrong that night because she knew Burke.
“Since that night, I’m afraid of the dark ... I was afraid to shower. I try to avoid going out after dark.”
The woman said the Christmas period has been ruined for her, with the attack having taken place a week beforehand.
“Sometimes I get triggered. I don’t trust men at all,” she said.
Mr Justice Hunt said Burke “seems to set about people who he has some previous knowledge of.”
He said it was “one of the most serious cases I have come across in a while” and that Burke “is a sexual predator who preys on people”.
The judge said the woman “was exposed to an unspeakable ordeal over a long period of time” and that some of the evidence and facts of the case were “extreme” and “disturbing”.
He said aggravating factors included the manner of the attack and the fact Burke was on bail for similar offending at the time. He said Burke has “given the best part of his life away but that is down to him and his offending”.
