Courts / Dublin / Report

Serial rapist fails in appeal over 'sinister, xenophobic' attacks

Date
2021-07-23

Stage
Appeal

Primary locality
Dublin

County
Dublin

Summary

A 33‑year‑old former security guard, Noel McKeon, lost an appeal against a 14‑year jail term for raping and violently assaulting two escort workers. The Court of Appeal upheld the Court of Appeal's finding that McKeon's attacks on a Latin American woman on 18 June 2016 and a Romanian woman on 2 February 2018 had a 'sinister, xenophobic context'. McKeon had contacted the women via an "escorts" website, pleaded guilty to sexual assault, assault, robbery and rape, and admitted false imprisonment of the first victim. In the first incident he forced the woman to jump naked from a window, stabbed her, and raped her after a violent struggle. In the second he demanded sex without a condom, punched her, pulled her hair, and raped her twice. Justice Tony Hunt imposed consecutive ten‑year sentences, reduced to 16 years with a two‑year suspension on condition of treatment. The appeal was dismissed.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Serial rapist fails in appeal over 'sinister, xenophobic' attacks. Charges or matters: sexual assault, assault, robbery and rape of the two women. Procedural stage: appeal

When:

June 18, 2016 Incident
February 2, 2018 Incident
February 4, 2018 Incident
2021-07-23 Publication

Why: He argued that Justice Hunt had reduced the sentence and suspended part of it in order to incentivise rehabilitation. CNI source report

Case subjects

Unnamed 33-year-old

Defendant

Charges: sexual assault, assault, robbery and rape of the two women (Admitted)

Plea: Guilty

Outcome: Counsel argued that 'a crushing sentence' had been imposed. The court was not satisfied that the sentence was crushing or the principle of proportionality had been broken. "These were extremely grave offences carried out with considerable violence with an interval of 18 months between them," she wrote, noting that McKeon had been questioned by Gardaí in the intervening period. "The offences had a sinister xenophobic context to them," she said. "The sentence imposed reflected the gravity of the totality of the offending behaviour and appropriate mitigation." They dismissed the appeal.