Galway man gets 7 years for premeditated rape

A man was jailed for seven years in the Central Criminal Court yesterday for the premeditated rape of a woman last year

A man was jailed for seven years in the Central Criminal Court yesterday for the premeditated rape of a woman last year. Mr Justice O'Higgins told Eamon Feeney his victim had had reason to fear for her life.

He had to impose a sentence to make it clear that such outrageous assaults could not be tolerated. "The very least sentence I can impose, having regard to the circumstances, is seven years," he said.

Factors in Feeney's favour included his guilty plea, his remorse and his wife's support.

Last week the court heard how the woman had arrived home after 1 a.m. to find her house burgled. As she tried to escape in her car, Feeney improvised handcuffs as he dragged her from it.

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The woman, who is in her early 40s and lives alone, told Mr Justice O'Higgins she had believed she was living her last moments as she struggled with Feeney.

Feeney had waited outside her home for an hour before breaking in. He later told gardai he had been looking for women's underwear. Earlier, he had had more than 10 drinks in pubs in Spiddal after leaving his wife and child to the Galway train.

Feeney (31) pleaded guilty in May to the rape on March 22nd, 1997.

Insp Martin Lee showed the handcuffs to the court which, he said, had been found at the scene of the attack. The cuffs consisted of three connected plastic tie straps. Mr Padraig O'Higgins SC, defending, had submitted that Feeney had intended only to burgle. He used the plastic tie straps in his work as a mechanic.

He said the woman's dog could have prevented Feeney from leaving the scene of the burglary. The victim then confronted him. Only after this did the rape take place. When arrested, Feeney admitted the offence and expressed remorse for the effect his crime would have on the victim.

What concerned the judge was not just the handcuffs but the fact that he had had them in his hands when he attacked the woman.

Mr Patrick Gageby SC, prosecuting, had said the attack appeared to be premeditated because of the handcuffs and because Feeney waited outside her home to see if she was accompanied by a friend before attacking her.

Feeney's wife said she had been shocked to read of the crime in the newspaper, and it would be difficult, but she would stand by him. Mr Padraig Cooney, a businessman in Spiddal and a project executive with Udaras na Gaeltachta, said he had known Feeney's family for years. Feeney's father, "Mairt in Eddie" Feeney, was an important business man in the area who could have become rich had he exploited his workers.