A Co Louth man who broke into a former girlfriend's house from which he was barred and raped her has been jailed for five years by Mr Justice Carney at the Central Criminal Court.
The 35-year-old man pleaded guilty to raping her on May 31st, 1998, at an address in Drogheda. He has five previous convictions and is currently detained in the Central Mental Hospital.
Mr Justice Carney asked Mr Roderick O'Hanlon, prosecuting, if he had any submission to make on the sentence that should be imposed. "The Director of Public Prosecutions is very trigger-happy about appealing my alleged undue leniency in sentencing. I would rather you say anything about it to my face rather than behind my back in another place."
Mr O'Hanlon replied he had no instructions from the DPP on the matter of sentence.
Mr Justice Carney noted the defendant was going to be held in the CMH for a number of years no matter what the court did and said he took this into consideration in the sentence.
The defendant had originally pleaded not guilty to a series of charges and was due for trial on May 16th when he pleaded guilty to one charge of rape.
The victim said the rape had ruined part of her life. While she felt she was recovering a bit she still didn't trust people and didn't want to go out at all.
Det Garda Maureen McFadden said the man came from a very respectable family but his alcohol problem made him violent and angry.
She said the victim was in her pyjamas bottoms when he came in and told her he was going to rape her.