A man who is serving an eight-year sentence for raping a woman has been jailed for an additional seven years for the attempted rape of another victim by Mr Justice Kevin O'Higgins at the Central Criminal Court.
James Cronin (24) of Freemount, Rathmore, Co Kerry was convicted on December 20th last of the attempted rape of a teenage girl he met at a Killarney disco and with assault with intent to rape her on Christmas Eve 2004.
He was found not guilty by the jury of threatening to kill the teenager on the same date and location. The jury's decisions followed just over two hours of deliberation on day-seven of the trial.
Cronin denied in evidence that he attempted to rape the girl and claimed the victim had "changed her mind" after asking him if he had a condom while they were "kissing and cuddling".
Mr Justice O'Higgins said that not only was Cronin found guilty by a jury of a very serious offence for which he had not shown any remorse, but a report before the court indicated that he presented a continuing risk to society.
The judge noted that Cronin's current sentence was due to expire in 2012 and directed that the seven-year term for the attempted rape was to commence when he finished that sentence.
He also directed that Cronin undergo seven years' post-release supervision.
He said Cronin had committed "a totally unwarranted and very nasty assault on a young girl" and were it not for the intervention of a man who answered her distress call, she might have been raped.
Mr Justice O'Higgins said the victim had suffered huge distress but had made a good recovery.
This crime was more serious due to Cronin's previous conviction and while he took into account everything advanced by defence counsel Michael Bowman, he had to be conscious of the extraordinary distress Cronin caused his victim and his own family, and the sentence had to be consecutive.
Cronin is serving an eight-year sentence imposed on May 26th last year by Mr Justice Henry Abbott for kidnapping and raping another woman he also met outside a Killarney disco on October 31st, 2004. He was found guilty by a jury in March last year of falsely imprisoning and raping the 27-year-old woman in his van.
Mr Bowman noted that a medical report on Cronin indicated a lack of insight arising out of alcohol and drug abuse.
He said Cronin's convictions had caused stress within his family, who had been affected by the stigma attached to such crimes, and appealed for a suspension of a portion of the sentence.
Insp Dan Keane agreed with John Aylmer, prosecuting, that the victim told the jury she left the disco with Cronin and they walked through the town before entering a cul-de-sac.
She said they kissed for a while but he then put his hands down her top, at which point she asked him to stop. She said this made him "cross" and he knocked her to the ground. He then pulled her clothes down and caught her by the throat. As he attempted to rape her, she heard a man come up and say, "leave her alone".
Cronin jumped up before the man caught him and pushed him up against a car.