A man who is serving a sentence for a drugs crime was yesterday convicted by a Central Criminal Court jury of raping a Limerick woman in the west of the city almost two years ago.
Emmanuel Ashibougwu, a 26-year-old married man with an address at The Square, Annacotty, Limerick, denied that he raped the 20-year-old woman in the early hours of the morning of December 27th, 2004, at a car park in the Punches Cross area.
The jury returned its verdict on the fifth day of the hearing, following over four hours' deliberations.
Det Garda David Burke said Ashibougwu, a Nigerian national, is serving a seven-year sentence for possession of heroin valued at €500,000 at O'Connell Avenue, Limerick, on August 18th, 2005.
He was convicted of the drug offence on February 20th last at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court.
Mr Justice Paul Carney directed that he be registered as a sex offender and remanded him in custody for sentence early next year.The woman told Justin Dillon SC, prosecuting, that Ashibougwu raped her in a car park after he insisted on walking home with her. Ashibougwu claimed in evidence that they had consensual sex.
The woman told how she left her boyfriend's brother's apartment in the city after having a row with her partner and was walking through the city when Ashibougwu grabbed her by the hand, turned her around and asked her why she was crying.
She said he kept walking with her and she told him she had a row with her boyfriend. The woman told Mr Dillon that Ashibougwu continued to walk with her despite her protestations that he didn't need to. When she crossed the road, he followed and tried to kiss her. She kept walking and he then grabbed her by the arm and became aggressive.
When her phone rang, he told her not to answer it and became more aggressive, so she started to walk very quickly as he tried to hold her hand.
She told Mr Dillon that when they reached the junction of Punches Cross, she tried to get him to leave by telling him her house was "just there", but he grabbed her by her arms, pushed her into a car park, and raped her.