Rapist seeks to be transferred to Central Mental Hospital

The Dublin man who abducted and repeatedly raped an 18-year-old Spanish student at a derelict site in the city has asked to be transferred to the Central Mental Hospital.

Eoin Berkley (25) of Hampton Wood Way, Finglas, admitted raping the woman at the Irish Glass Bottle Company site, Pigeon House Road, on three occasions between July 15th and 16th, 2017.

Last month he was jailed for 14 years for what the judge described as “most horrific” crimes that were particularly degrading for the young woman.

Mr Justice Michael White said the woman was violated in a horrendous manner and there was a collective sense of shame that a visitor to Ireland had suffered in such a vile way. As part of the sentence, Mr Justice White imposed three years post-release supervision.

On Thursday, Berkley appeared at the Central Criminal Court so Mr Justice White could outline the terms of his post-release conditions. He ordered that Berkley be assessed for the Safer Lives programme or similar, that he follow the directions of his mental health providers and attend all appointments with The Probation Service.

He also directed that Berkley complete a victim awareness programme and notify authorities of any change in his address post-release.

Berkley then asked the judge if he could be transferred to the Central Mental Hospital. Mr Justice White told Berkley that “places in the CMH are at a premium” and that the prison services would be carefully monitoring his mental health.

He informed Berkley that if he didn’t comply with the post-release conditions, he could be prosecuted in the District Court and face a maximum 12 month sentence.

Mr Justice White told John Fitzgerald SC, defending, that it would help Berkley “immensely” if he engaged with the Probation Service officer while in prison.

The judge accepted that Berkley was not "in a great mental condition" to speak to a probation officer, but told Mr Fitzgerald that it would be of great assistance to him to do so.

At the sentence hearing, a doctor’s report handed into court found Berkley had a significantly compromised development and suffered from a severe personality disorder.

The court heard that while in custody on these matters, he used his own blood to write the words “I’m so sorry” on the walls of a prison cell.