Courts / Limerick / Report

Man jailed for rape claims brother could have made up complaints for being 'outed'

Date
2022-11-04
Stage
Appeal
Primary locality
Limerick
County
Limerick

Summary

A 38‑year‑old man was sentenced to eight‑and‑a‑half years' imprisonment in February for seven counts of raping his younger brother between January 1998 and December 2002, mainly at the family home in Co. Limerick. The younger brother, who was 10 at the time of the first offence, testified that he had once admired his older sibling but that the abuse left him deeply scarred. In the sentencing hearing Judge Karen O'Connor described the defendant as "a big brother who should have protected his younger brother". The conviction was reached by a unanimous verdict in the Central Criminal Court in Dublin in December 2021. The defendant has now appealed, arguing that a line of questioning about the older brother's "outing" of the victim to their parents was unfairly excluded, potentially affecting the jury's assessment of the victim's credibility. The Court of Appeal has reserved judgment on the appeal.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Man jailed for rape claims brother could have made up complaints for being 'outed'. Procedural stage: appeal. Findings: Convicted

When:

Why: A man jailed for raping his brother has appealed his conviction, arguing that his younger sibling could have made up the complaints in anger because the defendant "outed" him as gay before their parents. CNI source report

Case subjects

Unnamed accused

Convicted Person

Finding: Convicted

Outcome: Convicted; A man jailed for raping his brother has appealed his conviction, arguing that his younger sibling could have made up the complaints in anger because the defendant "outed" him as gay before their parents. The man (38), who cannot be named to protect the anonymity of the victim, was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years imprisonment in February of this year on seven counts of raping his younger brother.

Places mentioned

Incident
Court Venue
  • Central Criminal Court
  • Court of Appeal
Secondary Mention

Topics

Stage Appeal

Related court reports

Read the original CNI report

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