A SLIGO man who beat an 18-year-old woman "within an inch of her life" and raped her while she was unconscious was jailed for seven years at the Central Criminal Court yesterday.
But Mr Justice Lavan said he would review the sentence on October 22nd, 1998. For that hearing, he ordered reports on the prison conduct of the rapist, Padraig Finn, in the meantime, any counselling he underwent and a report on the victim.
Finn (21), of Cranmore Road, Sligo, pleaded guilty to raping and assaulting the victim, occasioning her actual bodily harm, on January 18th last.
Mr Joseph Mathews SC (with Mr Shane Murphy), prosecuting, said the "trigger" for the vicious assault appeared to have been an innocent comment by the victim. She had suggested to Finn he might be better off without his girlfriend, who had had a child weeks earlier by another man.
Finn told gardai he met the victim earlier in a pub, and in common with a number of other people they got a taxi to Rosses Point in Sligo in the early hours of the morning.
They walked along the shore kissing and cuddling for five or 10 minutes. After that, they talked and he confided to her his upset about his girlfriend's baby.
Suddenly, after her reply, he threw her on the ground and began kicking and punching her. Sgt Gerry Connolly agreed with Mr Mathews there was a "Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde" transformation in Finn and he went berserk.
He practically "kicked and beat her to death" and she suffered fractures to her eye sockets, black and swollen eyes and bleeding from her eyes, nose and mouth. She also had bruises and abrasions all over her body. He left his footprint on her face.
The victim felt she was going to die. Her life flashed before her eyes. She pretended to be dead.
She went unconscious, and when she awoke she found him pulling at her trousers. In what Mr Mathews said was a "bizarre twist", Finn started shouting, asking: "Who did this to you?"
Fearing for her life, she played along and he brought her to a house where gardai were called. When they arrived, she identified Finn as the attacker.
Medical tests showed she had been raped and throttled while unconscious. In a second statement on January 24th last Finn made a full admission.
Mr Justice Lavan said Finn had beaten her "within an inch of her life" and society could not be seen to condone what happened.
Fixing the review date, he said he was heavily influenced by the fact that Finn had "dredged from somewhere within himself" the impulse to carry the victim to a house to get assistance. This was in contrast to many attackers who left their victims lying for hours, without help.
Mr Justice Lavan said Finn made a full confession which was necessary for medical treatment of the victim. He then signalled his intention to plead guilty and did so.
He had no previous convictions and had led a previously blameless life. Unlike most criminals he also entered the witness box and expressed sorrow and remorse for his actions, he said.
If a place on the official sex offenders' treatment programme was not available to him in prison, his family should make alternative arrangements. He also wanted to receive a report on the victim, said Mr Justice Lavan.
He was told the victim, who is suffering post-traumatic stress disorder, and her family did not want financial compensation.
In evidence, Finn said he was sorry and expressed his remorse but said he could not explain his actions. He said that after the assault he walked around as he could not believe what he had done. He kept hoping it was a dream.
Cross-examined by Mr Mathews, he said he could not explain why he walked back to the woman and raped her while she was lying curled up unconscious.