A man has been jailed for the rape and attempted anal rape of his former partner at their home.
The 35-year-old man, who cannot be named to protect the woman's identity, had pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to rape in 2010 and attempted anal rape in 2011 of the woman at their Dublin home.
The woman outlined in her victim impact statement that she had suffered panic attacks, flash backs and nightmares since the offence. She said she found it hard to trust people, especially men.
She said she had not been able to have a sexual relationship since, was going for counselling and being assessed for post traumatic stress disorder. She said she wanted to move on with her life.
Mr Justice Paul McDermott said the victim had been a vulnerable young woman at the time of the offences and had suffered considerably in abusive relationships in the past with other men.
He noted she had become involved with people who were exploiting her prior to meeting the accused who had assisted her in relation to moving to safety. They later began a relationship.
He noted the man had carried out the offences under the influence of alcohol and drugs and needed to address these issues. He said it was an aggravating factor that the woman had believed herself to be in the safety of her own home at the time of the offences.
The judge took into account the man’s guilty plea, his admissions of responsibility, his remorse and the apology offered to the woman in court as a recognition of the terrible wrong done to her.
Probation supervision
Mr Justice McDermott imposed an eight-year sentence and suspended the final 18 months on condition that the man undergo probation supervision, complete a sex offenders treatment programme and offence-focused work, as well as addressing his alcohol and addiction issues.
He also ordered the man to stay away from the woman and undergo three years post-release supervision.
A local garda told Sean Gillane SC, prosecuting, that the accused man had been a very heavy drinker at the time. On the night of the first offence in 2010 he had returned home to where the woman was asleep and she woke to find him raping her.
She pushed him away but the man continued for about twenty minutes.
At the time of the second offence in 2011 he approached the woman in their bedroom and asked: “Do you want to come over here and suck my cock?” She said she wasn’t in the mood and asked him to sleep on the sofa.
The man pulled off the quilt, grabbed her by the ankles and pulled her to the bottom of the bed. He flipped her over and attempted to anally rape her but was ultimately unsuccessful.
The woman reported the incidents to gardaí in 2015 and the accused man was interviewed in 2016.
He told gardaí he blacked out after drinking and did not have a memory of the incidents. He told gardaí “what can I say, if I done it, I done it, if she wants to press charges she can”.
The local garda agreed with Ken Fogarty SC, defending, that it had been a volatile and dysfunctional relationship and there had been alcohol use and drug taking in respect of the pair of them.
Mr Fogarty said the accused man was sorry for what he did to his former partner, whom he said he still loved. He said the man had been homeless at the time he went into custody on these offences but was now doing better physically and was motivated to never come before the courts again.