The rapist at the centre of the 'C' case in the 1990s has been jailed for 21 years for raping an 86-year-old woman in her home last year.
Simon McGinley (35), of Latlorcan Court, Monaghan, was found guilty on day nine of his trial in May by a Central Criminal Court jury of raping the elderly woman on June 16th, 2008. He had denied the charges.
McGinley, originally from Dundalk, was previously jailed for 12 years with four years suspended in 1998 after pleading guilty to raping the then 13-year-old girl at the centre of the 'C' case on August 27th, 1997.
He was released from Arbour Hill prison in November 2003 after “energetically attending” the sex offenders programme there.
A daughter of the elderly woman outlined in a victim impact statement how her mother was “proud of and valued her independence” before the rape. She said she loved to travel around the world visiting relatives, was active in charitable work, drove her own car and was passionate about gardening.
She said all that capability was swept away by the rape and she is now unable to function on her own. She said “fear is never far from the surface” and she is anxious when a man passes the window or she hears a knock.
The woman said her mother was no longer interested in meeting friends, going to mass or caring for her garden.
She told Mr Justice George Birmingham: “The most heartbreaking thing is the loss of joy from our mother’s life.”
The elderly woman had been deemed unfit to give evidence during the trial due to her worsening dementia but a deposition she gave outlining her ordeal at a District Court hearing in October 2008 was read to the jury.
Mr Justice Birmingham certified McGinley for registration as a sex offender and imposed a 21-year sentence to date from the time he went into custody in June 2008. He ordered 12 years post release supervision.
The judge said the crime was “about as bad as it gets” and at the upper end of the spectrum. He said the one place that an elderly lady should be able to feel safe and family members should feel she was safe was in her home.
Mr Justice Birmingham said it was hard to believe that the same person could be capable of raping a 13-year-old girl and an 85-year-old woman. He said McGinley would have to address his drinking problem because if he does not “everyone from very young girls to very old women will be at risk”.
Defence counsel Patrick MacEntee SC said McGinley wished to serve his sentence in Arbour Hill Prison as he is “deeply worried” about his safety.
Inspector Gerard Curley told prosecuting counsel, Tom O’Connell SC, that the woman answered a knock to her door in the early hours of the morning and McGinley, whom she said she had never seen before and pushed his way into the house. She did not resist him because she was afraid.
He told her to strip in the bedroom while he took off his clothes. He raped her repeatedly during the night and put his hand over her mouth at one point when she cried out. The woman said he was “rough and hurt her”.
Inspt Curley said the man left in the early hours of the morning and the woman later contacted her son and a friend who rang gardaí. She was treated in hospital for injuries including scrapes to her face and back and bruising to her arms, legs and inner thighs. She also sustained some genital injuries.
Inspt Curley said McGinley’s finger prints were found on the inside of a bedroom door. DNA evidence was also found on an electric blanket on the bed where rape took place and a swab taken from the woman matched his DNA profile. McGinley was arrested and denied the charges throughout the investigation.
Inspt Curley agreed with Mr MacEntee that there was some uncertainty about the exact period of time McGinley had spent in the house.
Sergeant Seamus Boyle told Mr O’Connell that he had been involved in the investigation of McGinley’s previous rape of a young girl in 1997.
The girl became pregnant as a result of the rape but the pregnancy was terminated and McGinley was identified as the father using DNA from the foetus.
Mr MacEntee submitted that, although this was a “dreadful offence”, it was not the worst possible offence in that there had been no weapon used, no break in and no gratuitous violence other then that involved in the rape.
He said it was significant that McGinley had been “extraordinarily drunk” prior to both his rape offences and said it was in the public interest that while he should be punished he should also receive appropriate treatment.
He said McGinley had a “loyal and supportive family” and came from a decent background. He said McGinley was released in 2003 after “energetically attending” the sex offenders programme in Arbour Hill.
Mr MacEntee said he had returned to live with his wife and children displaying a “layer of normality and goodness”. He said McGinley had been in custody since he was arrested for this offence and has been “virtually in solitary confinement” in prison as there had been “incidents”.