Man jailed for rape of woman over 16 years ago

A man from Kingscourt, County Cavan, has been sentenced to six years' imprisonment following his conviction for rape at the Central Criminal Court. The offence occurred in February 2007, when the man raped an acquaintance who was sleeping in her friend's home after a night out. The woman, then aged 22, had entered the bed fully clothed and awoke to find herself being assaulted. She told the man to stop, and he complied. The woman reported the matter to gardaí in 2017 and gave evidence at trial. The man denied the allegation, claiming the woman fabricated it for financial gain following his recent inheritance. A jury convicted him following a trial in October last year, the second trial in the case after a previous jury failed to reach a verdict. Justice Karen O'Connor imposed a headline sentence of seven and a half years, reduced to six years after considering mitigating factors, with eighteen months post-release supervision applied.