Actor convicted of orally raping woman who fell asleep in van

A former Ros na Rún actor will be sentenced in July for orally raping a woman who fell asleep in his van after he offered her a lift home.

Garrett Phillips (46), of St Mary's Terrace, Taylor's Hill, Galway, had pleaded not guilty to one charge of orally raping the then 20-year-old in the early hours of November 5th, 2015. The Central Criminal Court heard that Phillips, a father of two, initially worked in his family business before becoming an actor; he had been appearing on stage in London in the run-up to his trial.

The woman described herself as very sociable and doing well in her studies before the attack. “I was high achieving. My life was a train on a track in the right direction,” she said. “I wasn’t afraid of anything. I was indestructible.” But she is now taking medication for depression and anxiety, does not feel safe walking alone or sometimes in her own home, and has questioned her will to live.

The woman said the court process, during which she had to sit near her attacker, was one of the hardest things she has had to do. She said she was forced to speak about a painful experience and made to feel like a liar when giving evidence.

Night of the attack

Det Garda Evelyn Barratt told the court that Phillips had approached the woman as she sat alone and upset on a park bench and offered her a lift home. The woman accepted, and on the way Phillips asked if she had ever seen an overview of the city lights. The woman replied that she had not, then fell asleep. When she woke up Phillips was standing over her with his penis in her mouth. The detective said the woman got out of the van as quickly as she could, memorising the registration before running to a nearby home for help.

The jury heard that Phillips later claimed to gardaí that it was a consensual encounter that had started off “very tender” and felt “chemical”. His barrister said Phillips, who did not tell his wife about the matter until the evening before his trial, wanted to “unreservedly apologise for his behaviour”. Barry White SC also asked the judge to keep reporting restrictions on his client’s identity until the sentence was finalised, as Phillips’s wife and children meant there was “not just one victim in the case, there are four”.

Ms Justice Eileen Creedon denied the request and remanded Phillips on continuing bail until his sentencing.