Boy aged 14 at time of rape given suspended sentence

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

A boy who was 14 when he raped a girl was given a fully suspended sentence of 106 days’ detention at the Central Criminal Court on 28 July 2023. He was 17 at the time of sentencing and cannot be named for legal reasons.

He had pleaded not guilty to charges of oral rape and rape relating to 26 September 2020. A jury convicted him after a trial in May 2023. The proceedings were reported on 28 July 2023.

Prosecuting counsel Cathleen Noctor SC said the girl, who was 15 at the time, had no recollection of the rape because of her intoxication. The State accepted that the rape was committed on the basis that she was too incapacitated to consent.

In a victim impact statement read by a garda, the girl said she had suffered tremendously, experienced nightmares and self-harmed. She said she had lost friends and felt isolated.

Defence counsel Dominic McGinn SC said the boy had been reckless as to consent and had misread the situation after drinking alcohol for the first time. A probation officer said he had since acknowledged that the girl was unable to consent. Ms Justice Caroline Biggs said he had indicated through his legal team that he accepted the jury’s verdict.

The judge considered his age, engagement with probation services and the delay in bringing the case to court among the mitigating factors. She imposed conditions that he attend probation appointments, engage in HSE drug and alcohol addiction counselling and be of good behaviour. She also strongly advised him to continue engaging with probation services after turning 18.