Man who raped woman in Cork house jailed for three and half years
by Eimear Dodd · Irish MirrorA man who raped a woman after he "refused to take no for an answer" has been jailed for three and a half years.
The 32-year-old pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to rape on August 23, 2020 at a house in Co Cork.
He also pleaded guilty to possession of child sexual abuse material, referred to in law as child pornography.
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Imposing sentence today, Mr Justice Paul Burns said the woman had been in a short-lived relationship with the man and had gone to his home, believing it was safe to do so. He noted there was evidence of manipulation by the man to get the woman to visit him.
The judge said the man "refused to take no for an answer" and "forced himself" on the victim.
Mr Justice Burns set a headline sentence of seven years in respect of the rape count, which he reduced to four and a half years with the final 12 months suspended on strict conditions, having taken the mitigation into account.
He directed the man to place himself under the supervision of the Probation Services for three years post-release. The judge also imposed a concurrent six-month sentence for the charge of possession of child sexual abuse material.
A local garda told Maurice Coffey SC, prosecuting, that the man and the woman started chatting on social media in May 2020.
While they didn’t know each other initially, they found out that they were both from the same small migrant community and had many social connections.
They decided to meet at his home in July 2020. There was some sexual interaction between them on this occasion, the court heard.
The man told her he was single and had no children, although this was not true.
He later said he was suicidal and asked the woman to meet again. She went to his home on August 23, 2020 where his young child was also present.
The man and the woman went to his bedroom. They started kissing and she declined to continue with sexual intimacy as he didn't have a condom.
He then held her down forcefully and raped her. She was frightened and screamed at him to stop, but he put his hand over her mouth. He then forced her to masturbate him.
The man apologised almost immediately and followed her after she left the house, pleading with her not to tell anyone. He also sent her messages of apology.
Some time later, she made a complaint to gardaí.
The court previously heard the man was interviewed by gardaí in May 2021. He made some admissions and while he didn’t accept there was violence, agreed his actions could have caused her fear.
When his phone was searched, gardaí found three videos and two images of child abuse material. He admitted they were on his phone and was fully co-operative. He told gardaí he had never sought out this material.
The garda told the court that the man was sent the material by a third party. The videos and one image were classified as child-explicit, with another image classified as child exposure, the court was told.
An image was also found on the complainant's phone. The garda told the court this material was circulating within their community at the time and there is no suggestion that either party was distributing it.
The man arrived in Ireland in 2013 and lives with his wife and two young children. He has no previous convictions and has not come to recent garda attention.
The court was told the woman did not wish to make a victim impact statement and wanted the case to be finished.
The local garda agreed with defence counsel that the woman was aware the man was married with a child when she went to his home for a second time. The garda noted the woman said she did this as she was concerned for his safety because he had made threats to take his own life.
The witness also accepted that while they didn’t initially know each other, there were social and cultural connections between both parties.
The garda accepted there had been some consensual sexual interaction between the man and the woman prior to the rape.
It was further agreed that the man had apologised almost immediately and in a series of messages after the offending. The garda expressed the view that the apology was genuine and that the man was concerned about the impact on his life and his child.
It was also accepted that the man pleaded guilty on a trial date and the plea was of assistance to the prosecution.
The man has some work history, but more recently has been the main caregiver for his young children, the court heard.
Counsel for the defence said the impact on the accused’s family was a "profound punishment" for him.
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