Appeal against rape and sex assault conviction fails

A man has lost his appeal against his conviction for the rape and sexual assault of a woman.

Edward Piotrowski (48), told his victim during the two-and-a-half-hour attack he was going to kill her, her partner and that man's daughter, his trial heard.

After tying up the woman’s partner with rope and tape, Piotrowski sexually assaulted her in front of her partner before taking her to another room where he raped her and forced her to perform oral sex, the trial also heard.

In January 2010, Piotrowski, a native of Poland with a former address at Edenderry, Co Offaly, was sentenced to five concurrent life sentences by Mr Justice Peter Charleton after being convicted by a Central Criminal Court jury of a range of offences connected to the attack on November 25th, 2007.

Those sentences related to three counts of rape, one count of aggravated sexual assault and one count of false imprisonment of the woman.

Piotrowski was also jailed for 10 years concurrently for aggravated burglary, assault and false imprisonment of the man. All the sentences were backdated to November 2007.

A three-judge Court of Criminal Appeal, comprising Mr Justice Frank Clarke, presiding, and sitting with Mr Justice Michael Moriarty and Mr Justice Michael White, yesterday dismissed his appeal against conviction.

None of the grounds of appeal provided any legitimate basis for overturning the jury’s decision to convict, the court said.

Among those grounds were arguments that the trial judge failed to adequately explain the presumption of innocence when charging the jury, and failed to adequately put the defence case to the jury.

The CCA said the trial judge had “properly explained” the presumption of innocence to the jury and had properly explained the defence case and the effect of certain admissions.

The appeal court previously dismissed Piotrowski’s application to introduce new evidence after finding that material was unsubstantiated, uncorroborated and implausible.

Piotrowski’s appeal against sentence imposed will be heard at a later date.