Clare man had rape and sexual assault sentence reduced

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

A Clare man had his sentence for rape, sexual assault and oral rape reduced by the Court of Appeal on 10 December 2014, from nine years with three suspended to seven years with three suspended.

The offences against his younger cousin occurred over three years between 2003 and 2005. He had pleaded guilty to one count of rape, four counts of sexual assault and four counts of oral rape.

The appeal court found that the original sentencing judge had taken too severe a view of the offending, while maintaining that a custodial sentence was required. The man cannot be identified because doing so could identify the victim.