The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is seeking a speedy hearing of his appeal against the "undue leniency" of a suspended sentence imposed on a Co Clare man for the rape of a woman while she slept, the Court of Criminal Appeal was told yesterday.
The DPP has to await delivery of transcripts of the trial of Adam Keane before finalising the appeal, a date for which will be set on May 14th, the next appeal court list to fix dates for hearing.
The DPP last week lodged the appeal against the sentence imposed by Mr Justice Paul Carney on Keane (20), a bricklayer, of Barnageeha, Daragh, for the rape of Mary Shannon (33), also from Daragh, while she slept in a house in a Co Clare town on May 30th, 2005.
Ms Shannon waived her right to anonymity after the sentencing, saying she was "devastated" by the suspended sentence.
Yesterday Pauline Walley SC, for the DPP, said the director was anxious to obtain a priority hearing date for what was "an unusual case". She also applied to the court for copies of the transcript of both the trial and the sentencing.
Mr Justice Adrian Hardiman agreed to the request to furnish the transcripts.
In response to the request for a priority hearing, he said the appeal court list was full, but the court would not rule out the case being heard earlier if a slot became available.