Man jailed for Co Donegal rape

A man who raped a woman in her home after meeting her for the first time the previous day has been sentenced to nine years at…

A man who raped a woman in her home after meeting her for the first time the previous day has been sentenced to nine years at the Central Criminal Court.

Sean Finn (42) of Colehill, Kinnegad, Co Meath, pleaded guilty to rape on May 15th, 2010.

Sentencing Finn, Mr Justice Paul Carney said the rape of a woman in her own home, “where she is entitled to rely on safety and sanctuary”, is particularly aggravating.

He noted Finn had “insinuated” himself into her house and that the attack involved an “element of stalking”.

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Mr Justice Carney took into account Finn’s lack of previous convictions and guilty plea and suspended the final three years of the term. He also declared him a sex offender

Finn met the then 26-year-old woman the previous night after he joined a group she was in who were drinking in a Donegal hotel. He stayed with the group when they had breakfast the following morning and went back to the woman’s house when she and her companion got a taxi there.

Finn later got a taxi with the woman and her friend who were going on to another pub but he got dropped off at hospital to attend for an appointment.

He then turned up at the pub where the woman and her companion were and arrived back at her house later that afternoon.

Following the subsequent rape, the woman called gardaí. They viewed CCTV footage and arrested Finn at his ex-wife’s home later that day.

Det Sgt Michael Carroll said the woman was examined and found to have bruising to both her elbows and knee caps - which was consistent with the struggle as she had described it.

Finn later showed gardai where he had discarded the clothes he had been wearing and made full admissions in the subsequent interview. Det Sgt Carroll said he had no previous convictions.

Ms Ring read the woman’s victim impact report into court in which she described being “very disturbed” by the event. The woman described how she had been attacked in her own home which she said had “previously felt like a safe place”.

“I have had a heinous crime committed against me and now I will always be seen as a victim. I will always have the shadow of this assault over my life,” the woman said.