Man convicted of raping tourist

A north Dublin man has been convicted of raping a foreign tourist at a hotel in Killarney, Co Kerry, in 2005.

A north Dublin man has been convicted of raping a foreign tourist at a hotel in Killarney, Co Kerry, in 2005.

Philip McGrane (39), Moonlone Lane, Hynestown, The Naul, Co Dublin, was remanded for sentence later by Mr Justice Paul Carney, who also directed that he be registered as a sex offender pursuant to legislation.

Mr Justice Carney refused bail. Referring to intimate evidence given by his wife on his behalf in court, he said: "A person who calls his wife to give evidence on behalf of him is, to my mind, capable of anything and I'm not going to give bail under any circumstances."

The jury at the Central Criminal Court found McGrane guilty of oral and anal rape, rape and sexual assault.

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He had denied inflicting each offence on the tourist in the hotel on June 6th, 2005. It was the 11th day of his trial and the jury's verdicts on rape and sexual assault were delivered after over four hours of deliberation.

Verdicts for the two further counts of oral and anal rape were returned by a majority verdict.

Mr Justice Carney directed the preparation of a victim impact statement and thanked the jury of four women and eight men. He exempted the jurors from further service for life.

Garda Michelle Roche told Paul Burns SC, prosecuting, that McGrane became the chief suspect for the rape after gardaí viewed CCTV security footage from the hotel.

The now 58-year-old woman told Mr Burns that McGrane forced his way into her room and attacked her.