Courts / Limerick / Report

Rapist fails in bid to overturn conviction for attack on ex

Summary

In a Court of Appeal hearing, the appeal of Eamon Roche, a 31‑year‑old farmer convicted of raping his former girlfriend, was dismissed. Roche had been found guilty of a single count of rape in April 2019 and sentenced to six years' imprisonment. He argued that the trial judge, Mr Justice McDermott, had not properly charged the jury on issues of recklessness and the significance of his post‑incident text messages. The Court of Appeal, led by Ms Justice Patrick McCarthy, held that the trial judge had adequately instructed the jury on the facts, the defendant's conduct, and the relevance of the texts. The appeal was rejected, with the court affirming that no further instruction was required. The decision confirmed the original conviction and sentence.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Rapist fails in bid to overturn conviction for attack on ex. Procedural stage: appeal

When:

• March 21, 2015 Incident
• April 2019 Incident
• February 2015 Incident
• March 20, 2015 Incident
• 2022-01-28 Publication

Why: The defence said Roche had been apologising for speeding away from a Garda checkpoint because the car he had been driving at the time did not have any tax, insurance, or up-to-date NCT, and not for anything else. Defence account reported by CNI

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Appeal

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Read the original CNI report