Man who raped neighbour after refusing to leave her house jailed for 7½ years

A Cork man who raped his neighbour after she asked him to leave her house has been jailed for 7½ years.

The man (36), who cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim, had pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to rape in the victim's home on April 17th, 2017.

He was convicted by a jury of the sole count on rape after a trial in May of this year.

Passing sentence on Monday, Mr Justice Tony Hunt said that the victim’s hospitality was abused and that while the man claimed he perceived that the two were in a relationship, he did not think there was an objective basis for entertaining such a notion.

Mr Justice Hunt said the case was aggravated by the rape being perpetrated in the victim’s home and the fact that it involved a degree of force that went beyond even that which would be required to engage in non-consensual activity.

He sentenced the man to 8½ years’ imprisonment, but suspended the final 12 months on strict conditions including that the man follow all directions of the Probation Service for 12 months post-release.

Distressed

Garda Tracy Gleeson told Alice Fawsitt SC, prosecuting, that the victim considered the man a friend and that he was a regular visitor to her house.

Garda Gleeson said the man arrived to the house with his nephew who was given sweets. Much later he returned to her house on his own with alcohol for the victim, which he did not drink himself, and stayed in the house until the early hours of the morning.

The victim asked him to leave the house as she wanted to go to bed, but instead he followed her into her bedroom, pushed her on to the bed and raped her. She called gardaí who arrived at the house to find her in a distressed state with noticeable marks and bruises on her neck, arms and legs.

When questioned by gardaí, the man acknowledged that sex had taken place but claimed it was consensual. He further claimed that he was in a relationship with the victim, which she denied.

In a victim impact statement, which was read out in court, the woman said the rape had changed her life and that she now could not go outside without looking over her shoulder.

The woman said she could not get rid of the smell he had and that it kept coming back to her. She said that she was never scared of anything before, but now she is.