A convicted rapist who had previously received one of the longest sentences imposed by the Central Criminal Court for the offence has been acquitted by a jury of raping another woman in 2001.
"Just to let you know, he is already in prison for raping another woman," the mother of the complainant told the jury before they left the court room after unanimously acquitting him of rape, threatening to cause harm to and assaulting her 18-year-old daughter on May 20th, 2001, near Tamango disco in Portmarnock.
"He's a vicious man. He raped my daughter. He is going to do it again. I hope it's not one of you," she said to the jury members, some of whom remained expressionless as mother and daughter broke into tears.
The man, who will be 23 later this month, had received a lengthy prison sentence from the Central Criminal Court in recent years for raping two women in Dublin.
Details cannot be given as it might mean identifying him, which would be illegal following his acquittal on these charges.
The rapes, to which he pleaded guilty, were committed while he was on bail awaiting trial for the rape charges he was acquitted of yesterday.
The complainant, now 22, turned to the defendant and told him he was "a dead man" and would "rot in hell".
He had been on trial for the same charges in July last year when the jury was unable to reach a verdict after eight days of evidence. A hung jury necessitated another trial, which began on May 20th, before Mr Justice Philip O'Sullivan and ended in his acquittal yesterday.