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Rapist had 103 convictions and was on bail for seven charges at time of offence, court hears

Summary

John Gavin, aged 29, was sentenced to six years' imprisonment for raping a woman in Handel's Hotel on Fishamble Street in 2012. At the time of the offence he had 103 prior convictions and was on bail for seven separate charges. Gavin denied the rape, claiming the victim was a "lying bastard" and a "dirty mare" and that she had "jumped" on him. The court heard that the victim had met Gavin at a city centre venue, drank and took drugs together, and later agreed to help him find a hotel room after the hotel refused to accommodate him. They went to Jury's Hotel, were refused, and were directed to Handel's, where Gavin took a room and raped the victim. The judge, Mr Justice Paul Coffey, backdated the six‑year sentence to July 2016 and ordered Gavin to be registered as a sex offender. John Gavin pleaded not guilty.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Rapist had 103 convictions and was on bail for seven charges at time of offence, court hears. Charges or matters: rape of the woman on March 26, 2016. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

• March 26, 2016 Incident
• July 2016 Incident
• 2017-03-27 Publication

Why: She did this because she wanted to show she had no problem with travellers. CNI source report

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Drugs Sexual Offences Stage Sentence

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Read the original CNI report