A man who raped a 14-year-old girl twice after agreeing to give her a lift home has been jailed for seven years by Mr Justice Carney at the Central Criminal Court.
Eugene Worsfold gave his victim a lift as she was walking along the Belfast road from Swords, Co Dublin. She had not had enough bus fare and had to leave the bus 10 miles before her home. He agreed to drive her home.
Det Sgt Joseph Kelly of Balbriggan said Worsfold drove instead on back roads towards Dublin, thumped her on the face and raped her the first time in a nettle patch. He gave her £1.50 to get a bus home after a second rape in the car nearer her home town.
Worsfold (37), of Eamonn Ceannt Tower, Ballymun and formerly of Beechland Drive, Lisburn, admitted he raped and sexually assaulted the teenager on August 2nd last year. His father served a long sentence here for rape and Worsfold has previous convictions in Northern Ireland for unlawful carnal knowledge of seven girls, indecent assault, false imprisonment and wounding with intent, for which he got six years.
Mr Justice Carney said Worsfold "effectively abducted" his teenage victim and subjected her to gratuitous violence and two rapes. She had believed she was going to die. If violence had not been used he might have been able to give a five-year sentence.
Det Sgt Kelly told Mr Patrick Gageby SC, prosecuting, the victim had to leave the bus at Swords when travelling home from Dublin due to a dispute about the fare she paid. She was 10-12 miles from home and encountered Worsfold near Blakes' Cross.
The victim noticed a smell of drink from Worsfold. He stopped at a petrol station, then stopped beside a field, hit her "a dig in the face", pulled her head back by the hair and ordered her to do what he said. She screamed and he shouted to her to be quiet before he dragged her into the field where he raped her.
The second rape was at Delvin Bridge. He gave her £1.50 for the bus. Worsfold's car was identified on the video at the petrol station with the girl seen sitting in it.
He was arrested at a Dun Laoghaire building site on August 28th and denied meeting the girl. He gave samples which provided DNA evidence against him. Det Sgt Kelly agreed with Mr Brendan Grehan, defending, that Worsfold had volunteered the samples and had pleaded guilty before the trial and that had helped his victim deal with her trauma.
Last night Dublin Bus said it had fully investigated the circumstances in which the girl had left the bus and was satisfied that the driver had not put her off.