A five-month operation involving female gardai acting as decoys resulted in the jailing of a rapist for 10 years by the Central Criminal Court.
David Hegarty (23), a father of one, of Nutley Road, Mahon, Cork, pleaded guilty to raping two women in Cork city centre on October 5th and October 27th, 1998.
Mr Patrick J. McCarthy SC, prosecuting, said the first victim did not report her rape until the second one was reported.
The Garda set up a surveillance operation in which female officers in civilian clothes acted as decoys during the hours of 2 a.m. - 6 a.m. to try to identify all suspicious persons.
The operation continued for five months. Mr McCarthy (with Mr Des Zaiden) said Hegarty came to notice by acting suspiciously in the early hours of March 27th, 1999.
Mr McCarthy said some 120 people had been interviewed in the investigation and these included about 70 possible suspects. Many of them voluntarily gave blood samples to rule themselves out of the case. Hegarty was asked to volunteer a blood sample, which he did. The analysis of his sample matched the DNA in semen recovered from one of the rape victims.
Hegarty was arrested and made two statements implicating himself in both rapes.
Det Garda Edward O'Callaghan said Hegarty admitted he used pieces of glass he picked up from the street in both rapes which involved the same modus operandi.
The victims were each aged 20 and were walking home along Patrick Street after working in late-night venues. Hegarty grabbed them from behind around the neck and forced them down laneways. Each of them thought he had pressed a knife to their throats.
Hegarty's father told Mr John Devlin, defending, that he now knew his son had been smoking a large amount of cannabis and drinking lager and vodka heavily at the time. His son was sorry for what he done, and the family extended its apologies to his victims.
Mr Blaise O'Carroll SC (with Mr Devlin) said it was "a profound and tragic case" in which it must have been obvious to Hegarty he was in effect handing himself up when he voluntarily gave his blood sample.
Mr Justice Carney said he had to measure the crimes as calling for 10-year prison terms for each, which would run concurrently. But in view of the pro-active steps Hegarty took by signing guilty pleas in the District Court which helped the victims and also the court, where lists were spiralling out of control, he would unconditionally suspend the final 18 months.