Man sentenced to 14 years for violent rape

A man who violently raped his 71-year-old aunt in her Co Louth home after absconding from prison in the United Kingdom has been jailed for 14 years.

The 51-year-old man was convicted by a Central Criminal Court jury last month of the rape and sexual assault of his aunt at her home on March 13th, 2011, following an eight-day trial.

The accused man raped his aunt on her bed after tearing off the woman’s clothes during a four-hour ordeal which began when she let him in for a cup of tea.

The woman sustained substantial injuries to her genital area and had difficulty walking for some time.

Mr Justice George Birmingham said the woman had understandably felt she was safe letting her nephew in for a cup of tea. “Sadly she could not have been more wrong,” he said.

He noted that the accused had not expressed any “regret, apology or remorse” for the offence.

Mr Justice Birmingham said the aggravating factors in the case included the vulnerability of the victim, the disparity in physical strength, the injuries sustained by the woman and the effect the offence had on her.

He imposed a 14-year sentence for the rape and a concurrent 3½ years for the sexual assault.

In her victim impact statement, the now 75-year-old woman outlined how she no longer trusts men or feels safe in her own home and felt ashamed to tell her family about the rape.

Michael Delaney SC, prosecuting, said the view of the Director of Public Prosecutions was that the offences were on the higher end of the scale.

Previous convictions
The accused man has a large number of previous convictions from the UK and has served significant time in prison.

He had absconded from prison there after failing to return from day release.

He returned to England after this offence where he was arrested and later extradited to Ireland after finishing his sentence there. He had claimed the sex was consensual.

Eoin Lawlor, defending, said the accused man is single with no children and no drug addictions. He has been in custody on this offence for two years.

Det Insp Patrick Marry told Michael Delaney SC, prosecuting, that the victim had met her nephew on one previous occasion when he called to her house about one week prior to the rape and they had a cup of tea. She had said it was a normal innocuous visit.

On the morning of March 13th, 2011, the woman had risen and dressed at 7am when she heard her doorbell ringing. She saw it was her nephew and invited him in for a cup of tea.

As she made the tea in the kitchen her nephew came up behind her and put his hand over her mouth and a knife to her throat. He threatened her and dragged her into the sitting room where he pulled off her bottom clothes as she struggled.

Holding knife
Still holding the knife he brought her to the bedroom where he tore off her top and cardigan before raping her on the bed.

Before he left four hours later at 10.45am he threatened her, warning her not to say anything.

The woman phoned her niece and sister-in-law who persuaded her to contact gardaí. She had already taken a shower because she felt dirty.

She was examined at a sexual assault treatment unit, where it was found she had extensive and substantial injuries to her genital area. She was heavily bruised and had difficulty walking for some time.

Det Insp Marry said the man had been given day release in January 2011 from a sentence he was serving but he failed to return to prison and was deemed to have absconded.

He returned to the UK following the rape where he was arrested in June 2011 and returned to prison.

He was interviewed in prison by gardaí and he told them there had been “a moment of moral weakness” between him and his aunt and the sex was consensual.

The accused was extradited to Ireland on completion of his sentence in 2012 and has been in custody since.