Aidan Kestell jailed for rape after Dublin park attack

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Aidan Kestell was sentenced to eight years, with the final six months suspended, at the Central Criminal Court on 15 March 2024 for raping a woman in Hartstown Park, Dublin 15.

Justice Tony Hunt set a nine-year headline sentence, then reduced it to eight years. He ordered Kestell to be of good behaviour for three years after release and to have no contact with the woman or her family.

Kestell was convicted after a four-day trial. The court heard that he had no previous convictions; the judge said he had first denied the offence before giving what he called a “grudging acceptance” of events.