Kildare man sentenced for violent sex attack

A Kildare man has been sentenced to 7½ years for the violent sexual attack on a young woman who took her own life a year later.

Seán Thackaberry (20) was walking Michelle Hennessy home in January 2011 when he threw her over a wall and subjected her to an aggravated sexual assault.

Ms Hennessy was rescued when a passing Garda patrol heard her screams and gave chase to Thackaberry.

The court heard Ms Hennessy (26) faced intimidation and bullying in connection with the attack in the months before she took her own life.

Mr Justice Barry White said it was difficult to ascertain the exact nature of the assault but that he was satisfied that it lay on the upper-middle range of the scale. He suspended the final 2½ years of the 7½-year term in light of Thackaberry’s co-operation with gardaí and low intellectual functioning.

Thackaberry, Melita Road, Kildare town, was initially charged with rape but later entered a guilty plea at the Central Criminal Court to aggravated sexual assault which was acceptable to the DPP.

With the victim having died in October 2012, the DPP was able to bring the case to court based on Thackaberry’s admissions, DNA evidence on his clothes and medical reports of Ms Hennessy’s injuries.

Garda Sgt Ann Thompson told Paul O’Higgins SC, prosecuting, that Ms Hennessy had been on a night out and was walking home with two friends.

They ran into Thackaberry and continued walking. When they came to a fork in the road, Ms Hennessy’s friends went home in one direction and told Thackaberry to see her home in the other direction.

Aggravated assault
Ms Hennessy was about 250m from home when Thackaberry threw her over a wall into waste ground. "According to the accused, what took place next amounted to an aggravated sexual assault which lasted for 20 minutes," Mr O'Higgins said.

Ms Hennessy was brought to hospital with bruising to her face and injuries around her body and genitals.

Thackaberry co-operated with gardaí and provided his clothing for DNA testing.

A victim impact report on behalf of the victim stated she was terrified of going out after the attack. She reported experiencing bullying and intimidation from people in the town in the month before she took her life. The court heard that before the incident, she was a bright and bubbly woman who loved to travel and sky dive.