A man who used a mobile telephone to rape a teenage girl was jailed for 10 years at the Central Criminal Court today.
The judge in the case described what happened as "an escalation in depravity" and ordered that Gareth Feeney (22) from Baldoyle, Dublin, who was convicted of rape using an implement, should remain on the sexual offenders' list for 10 years following his release.
Feeney, a former Dublin airport worker, was aged 19 when he carried out the attack in March 1999.
He met his 17-year-old victim at a disco, and the pair later wandered on to a beach area near Dublin's Sutton Golf Club, where Feeney subjected the girl to a prolonged sexual assault.
During the assault, Feeney used his mobile phone to rape the teenager.
Feeney pleaded not guilty at the start of his trial and claimed that what happened between him and the girl had been consensual.
Mr Justice Paul Carney said mobile phones were carried by children attending discos the length and breadth of the country, and he was not going to tolerate "the escalation of depravity".
Feeney was found not guilty of four other rape charges earlier this year.
The judge said he found it very difficult to be lenient regarding the count on which Feeney was convicted. He added that Feeney was "arrogant and cocky" during his trial.
PA