TWO MEN have been convicted of raping a Dublin woman after hustling her along a city centre street.
Julian Hobanel (23), of Kippure Park, Finglas and Radu Grierosu (21), of Island Street, Dublin, both from Romania, were found guilty by a jury on all charges after six hours’ deliberation and a nine-day trial.
They had pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to rape and intentionally or recklessly detaining the woman without her consent on November 4th, 2006.
Hobanel had pleaded guilty to robbing the woman of her cash and mobile phone on the same occasion, while Grierosu denied this charge. The jury returned unanimous guilty verdicts on Thursday on the charges of holding the woman without her consent and the theft of her handbag. They brought in majority guilty verdicts yesterday on the rape charges.
Mr Justice Peter Charleton thanked the jury of four women and eight men for their care and attention, and excused them from jury service for 10 years.
He remanded the accused in custody until sentencing next January. He also ordered probation reports for the men and a victim impact report for the woman. He further ordered that Hobanel and Grierosu undergo a psychiatric evaluation before sentencing.
Before dismissing the jury, he commented: “You may wonder why no one came to this woman’s aid . . . That’s the kind of societies that have developed nowadays.”
During the trial, Alex Owens, prosecuting, told the jury that it was the State’s case that this was a crime of “common design” wherein Grierosu was an active participant in the rape, detention and robbery of the complainant.
Evidence was given he held the woman while Hobanel had sex with her against her will. The woman gave evidence that she left a nightclub in the city centre at 2.30am when Hobanel grabbed her waist from behind. He tried to put on an Irish accent, told her he was from Finglas and said he could get a taxi with her.
The lights turned green and he forced her across the road. She thought he was drunk and she would be able to get rid of him once they got to the footpath.
She then tried to turn to the side to get away but said he was too strong and he had her in his grip.
They later stopped outside an apartment complex. She said she was then brought up the stairs of the building. She tried to leave but Hobanel told her to sit down and said she was not going anywhere.
Hobanel grabbed her handbag and threw it to another man while Grierosu ran up the stairs and grabbed her ankles. She said Hobanel then had sex with her.