A Co Kildare man has been jailed for 10 years for falsely imprisoning and orally raping a former heroin addict turned prostitute during a two-hour ordeal in the Wicklow Mountains in 1994.
Adrian Power (27), of Maddenstown, The Curragh, was found guilty by a jury in the Central Criminal Court in March. After a five-day trial, the jury of seven women and five men took under 90 minutes to return unanimous verdicts on both charges.
Two further charges against Power of raping and buggering the now 25-year-old mother of two were withdrawn from the jury following submissions by Mr Paul McDermott SC, defending (with Mr Frank Griffin).
Mr Justice Smith said it was "a brutal and vicious attack" in which no mercy had been shown to the victim.
The woman had told the jury that Power and his companion, Thomas Stokes, "pulled her around like a rag doll" during her horrific ordeal.
She described how both of them took turns in forcing her into sex while shouting threats at her.
"It went on for some hours but it seemed like forever. I thought they were going to kill me."
Stokes was convicted in 1996 of his role in the crime and was given a life sentence. The offences occurred at Powerscourt mountain, Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, between 10 p.m. on December 29th, and 2 a.m. on December 30th, 1994.
The woman told Ms Maureen Clark SC, prosecuting (with Mr Pat O'Connell), at the start of the trial that she had taken to prostitution to feed her then heroin habit.
Her boyfriend did not approve. She did not do full sex and only offered oral sex to sufficient clients per night to get enough money for heroin.
She said she had agreed a fee of £30 with Stokes for oral sex. Stokes told her Power was his brother whom he was to leave in Ranelagh but instead of driving there, she was taken up into the mountain.
She said she "knew within two minutes" of getting into the car that she was in trouble.
The men argued in front of her because Power wanted to get "hash".
Stokes stopped the car at a caravan to get the cannabis and she talked to the other man. She declined an offer of cannabis.
Mr Justice Smith said one of the most disturbing aspects of the case was that Power had been convicted of indecently assaulting a tourist in London in 1991.