Limerick man jailed for second time for raping woman in her home

A Limerick man whose conviction for the rape of a woman in her home was quashed last year has been jailed for 12 years for the offence after a retrial.

The Central Criminal Court heard the attack by Alan Hanley (38), of no fixed abode, came to an end when the woman managed to run from the house in a very distressed condition.

Hanley was in 2015, after a second trial, sentenced by Ms Justice Deirdre Murphy to 12½ years’ imprisonment. He successfully appealed his conviction last June over the trial judge’s failure to give the jury a corroboration warning.

During a third trial at the Central Criminal Court earlier this year, Hanley again pleaded not guilty to three counts of rape at a house in the city on the night of May 4th/5th, 2012. He had previously admitted assaulting the woman causing her harm on the same occasion.

After seven hours of deliberations, a jury of three women and nine men returned a majority verdict of guilty on one count of raping the woman. The jury failed to agree verdicts on the two other counts of rape.

Mr Justice Alex Owens backdated the 12 year prison sentence to May 5th, 2012, the day Hanley first went into custody on this matter.

During the trial, the jury heard testimony that the attack ended when Hanley went upstairs to turn off a smoke alarm that had been activated because he was burning cut-up pieces of a rug on which he had ejaculated.

Ran

The woman, who was naked at this time, placed a towel and a throw around her and ran out of the house. A passerby saw her and the alarm was raised.

Hanley and the woman had met some weeks before the attack and there was a sexual element to their relationship. They had a serious falling out two nights before the attack.

On the night in question, she said Hanley came to her house and began punching and kicking her when she answered the door. He continued to attack her while she was lying in a ball by the fireplace.

She said he then tore all her clothes off and raped her on the rug before dragging her by her hair into a shower where he “hosed her down”.

She said she tried to escape but he caught her and raped her a second time and dragged her into the shower again. She alleged he then dragged her downstairs and raped her a third time.

The jury failed to agree verdicts on rape charges brought in relation to these allegations. The State has entered a nolle prosequi on these.

Mr Justice Owens said he had to consider the danger of post release sexual re-offending and ordered that Hanley be under the supervision of the Probation Service for six years post release.

He also ordered that Hanley complete a sex offenders course if deemed suitable.

Hanley stood up in court and said he would not comply with this order, and shouted “You have no evidence, so go f**k yourself. F**k you and your court”.