A Dublin man who raped and threatened to kill a woman after they met at a disco in Sligo was jailed yesterday for five years by the Central Criminal Court.
The court heard that Darren Turner (23) had demanded the woman, aged 22, repeat "rape me, rape me" and she complied because of fear. He also threatened to kill her.
Later, Turner told gardai he had drunk 10 pints of Carlsberg lager and could not remember raping the woman. However, he recalled hitting her and accepted he had raped her.
Turner, originally from Tallaght in Dublin, pleaded guilty to charges of rape, sexual assault and assaulting the victim, occasioning actual bodily harm at a house he shared with others in Summerhill, Sligo, on the night of May 25th, 1996.
Mr Justice Paul Carney said he had intended imposing a tougher sentence but was dissuaded by a plea for leniency from defence counsel, Mr Barry White SC, and the defendant's family circumstances. Mr White said Turner's actions were out of character. He was abstaining from alcohol and attending AA meetings. His girlfriend was expecting a baby.
