Man who beat and raped woman jailed for five years

A man who beat and raped a woman in Co Monaghan after giving her a lift home has been jailed for five years.

Aurelijus Kizelavicius (22) punched his victim with a closed fist up to six times in the face before raping her, the Central Criminal Court heard.

Kizelavicius, of Knocktornagh, Castleblayney, pleaded guilty to rape and assault causing harm to a woman at a location in the county on March 29th, 2015.

Detective Garda Lisa Gaughan told the court the woman had gone into a Monaghan town to see a band only to find the pub venue closed. It was raining heavily and a car parked across from the pub flashed its lights at her. She went to the car and asked the driver, who was Kizelavicius, for a lift.

After he drove her home she invited him in for a cup of tea because she thought it was nice of him to have given her the lift, the court heard.

Once inside, Kizelavicius suggested they have sex and the woman replied “you must be joking”. She later told gardaí­ that “out of nowhere” Kizelavicius began punching her in the face.

He then took her clothes off and held her down and raped her. She was in fear for her life during the attack, Det Garda Gaughan told the court.

In a victim impact statement, the woman said the attack turned her from a happy person into “a shy worthless unconfident” one. She felt humiliated afterwards and suffered shocking nightmares.

She was too frightened to open her house door and was constantly looking over her shoulder. She became depressed and locked herself in her home with the curtains closed for months.

Mr Justice Paul Butler said the case was in the middle category of rape offending. He said he had to take into consideration the man's youth and his guilty plea, which the court heard were greatly welcomed by the victim.

The judge noted the man’s previous convictions include one for minor assault but said they were not relevant to this offence.

He imposed a sentence of seven years but suspended the last two years on condition that Kizelavicius attend after his release any sex offender programmes set out by the Probation Services.