Man who raped partner and threatened to gouge out her eye in Dublin hotel is jailed

Fiona Ferguson

A man who raped his terrified then-partner in a hotel room and threatened to take her eyeball out with a spoon has been jailed for nine years.

The Central Criminal Court heard the woman was left fearing for her life.

The 36-year-old man was convicted of sexual assault of the woman at his home on February 7, 2022 and rape, sexual assault and threats to kill the woman at a Dublin hotel 11 days later on February 18, 2022.

He has over 70 previous convictions, but no prior convictions for sexual offences.

Passing sentence today, Mr Justice Paul Burns noted the intimate relationship between the pair at the time was an aggravating factor. He noted the severe impact of the offending on the woman, the degradation involved and the abuse of trust.

He said it was an “appalling rape” and the only person to blame was the accused man.

Mr Justice Burns set a headline sentence of 11 years' imprisonment, but taking into account the mitigating and personal circumstances of the man, he imposed 10 years' imprisonment with the final year suspended for three years.

The final year of the sentence was suspended on condition the accused man remain under probation supervision and undertake any recommended courses or therapies.

An investigating garda told Eilis Brennan SC, prosecuting, that the man and woman were in a relationship at the time but were not living together. The first offence occurred while the woman was staying over with him.

She was lying on the bed when the man became aggressive and pulled down her clothing when she asked him not to. He hit her and called her abusive names. He later apologised via text message, and she told him he would have to go to anger management if the relationship was to continue.

The woman took pictures of her injuries, including bruising on her neck and thigh.

The woman was arranging to get a protection order taken out, but the pair continued to text, and she went to meet him at a Dublin hotel on February 17 to discuss their relationship.

They had consensual sex in the hotel room, but began to argue in the bar afterwards. The manager of the hotel was concerned something might happen.

The woman said she was getting afraid as the accused was becoming aggressive, and they went back upstairs. She got into bed fully clothed and told the man she did not want to have sex.

The man put his fingers into her vagina and then raped her. The man spat at her and called her names, before telling her he was going to shoot members of her family. He told her he was going to take her eyeball out with a spoon.

The woman feared she was going to die in the hotel room and ran for the door. She knocked on doors down the corridor as the man pursued her. She screamed so loudly that the man returned to the hotel room, and she made her way to reception.

Gardaí were alerted and the extremely distressed woman made a complaint of rape. She was brought to a Sexual Assault Treatment Unit for examination and later made a formal statement.

The man denied all offending at the interview and initially claimed they had not had sex in the hotel. At trial, he conceded they did, but claimed it was consensual.

In her victim impact statement, the woman said there were no words to describe how the crimes had changed her life and changed her as a person. She described how she had washed her skin with bleach as she had been left feeling disgusting and dirty.

She said she had been left in fear for her life and was living on her nerves. She said she was terrified to socialise and was scared if a car stopped near her, thinking the man had sent someone to kill her, as he always threatened he would.

Giollaíosa Ó Lideadha SC, defending, said the man does not accept the verdicts of the court but apologised for an outburst he had in court upon his conviction. He said the man wished to indicate to the injured party that she was not under any threat from him.

He said the man wished to avail of therapeutic supports and an anger management programme recommended by a psychological report before the court.

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