A Co Mayo man who raped a neighbour after she arrived home from Mass has been jailed for five years by Mr Justice Carney at the Central Criminal Court. John Hope (52), of Saltfield, Bunnyconnellan, Ballina, jumped naked through a window when gardai surrounded the victim's house. He admitted the rape.
Mr Justice Carney suspended the final nine months of the sentence on account of Hope's early guilty plea. He said that any reporting of the suspension without giving the reason would be a misreporting of the matter.