A hostel manager has been jailed for eight years by the Central Criminal Court for raping a French tourist in Ennis, Co Clare, last year.
The court heard that in 1993, John Haw, a native of Castlewellan, Co Down, received a six-year sentence at Craigavon Crown Court on four counts of indecent assault against a girl and a count of common assault against a child. A year later the sentence was reduced to 18 months by the Court of Criminal Appeal in Northern Ireland. He moved to Ennis in 1995 and got work at the Abbey Tourist Hostel.
Haw (42), with an address care of the hostel, admitted the offence against the 21-year-old hostel resident between 11 p.m. on April 21st, and 6 a.m. on April 22nd, 1996.
Del Sgt Joseph O'Brien told Mr Dermot McKeon, prosecuting, that the woman arrived in Ireland and booked into the hostel on April 17th, 1996. She became friendly with Haw and other hostel guests and went socialising, with them. Before going to Cork on April 19th, she told Haw she expected to be back on April 21st. When she arrived back, he met her off the bus, brought her to the hostel and allocated her a room where there were no other guests.
Later that evening, she went out with an American male friend and Haw but returned before them to ago to bed. She awoke in the early hours on hearing Haw in her room. He had a lot of drink taken. She told him she was very tired but he began to kiss and paw her. She kicked him in the face, giving him a black eye and he then became very violent Del Sgt O'Brien said.
Del Sgt O'Brien said that, unsure of what to do, the victim went to Cork and complained when booking into a hostel there. The Cork hostel manager rang the Garda. When confronted with the allegations, Haw first claimed the incident was by consent but later indicate he, would not deny the woman's claims.
Mr Gregory Murphy SC, defending, said his client had a drink problem and had a lot of drink taken before the incident, though this was no excuse. He was willing to get sexual and alcohol counselling, but there were limited places on the sex offenders' programmes in Irish jails.