Courts / Cavan / Report
Man jailed for rape of woman over 16 years ago
Summary
Paul Clarke, 40, of Muff, Kingscourt, Cavan, was sentenced at the Central Criminal Court for the rape of a woman in 2007. Clarke had denied the charge, claiming the victim fabricated the allegation to access his inheritance, but was convicted by a jury following a second trial after the first resulted in a hung jury. Ms Justice Karen O'Connor imposed a headline sentence of seven and a half years, which she reduced to six years, taking into account mitigating factors including Clarke's personal circumstances and a psychologist's report detailing memory issues from a 2002 car accident. The judge backdated the sentence to Clarke's initial custody in December and applied 18 months of post-release supervision. During the hearing, the judge acknowledged the victim's dignity and noted her horror that a member of Clarke's legal team had followed her on social media. The judge described Clarke's claim that the victim sought money as "unpleasant, hurtful and ugly." The court heard that the victim, then 22, was asleep in a friend's house when she was raped. She reported the incident in 2017 after years of anxiety and depression. The judge emphasized that the victim should have felt safe in her friend's home but was instead violated. The matter was concluded with the imposition of the six-year custodial sentence and supervision conditions.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Man jailed for rape of woman over 16 years ago. Procedural stage: sentence. Findings: Convicted
When:
- February 11, 2007 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2023-02-20 Publication
Why: He claimed during the trial that the woman was making up the allegation because she was looking for money, having learned that he had received an inheritance. CNI source report
Case subjects
Defendant
Finding: Convicted
Outcome: Convicted; The judge said the woman had shown great dignity during the trial and sentence hearing and acknowledged that the woman had previously outlined how she was horrified to note that a member of Clarke's legal team had been following her on a social media account. She also applied 18 months post release supervision and backdated the sentence to when Clarke first went into custody last December.
Places mentioned
- Central Criminal Court
- Kingscourt
Topics
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