Courts / Tipperary / Report

Convicted rapist argues that screen for victim at trial had prejudicial effect

Summary

A 57‑year‑old man, whose identity is protected to safeguard his victim, appealed his conviction for raping his wife between 2003 and 2007. He had also pleaded guilty to raping and assaulting his younger sister between 1978 and 1987. In March 2020, a jury found him guilty of the wife's rapes and the court sentenced him to 13 years' imprisonment, with seven years for the sister's offences and six years for the wife's, to run consecutively with no suspension. The appellant argued that a screen separating him from his wife during trial could have prejudiced the jury, portraying him as "a man to be feared." The Court of Appeal heard the appellant's counsel, Michael Delaney SC, who contended that the screen and the wife's oral evidence of assaults were highly prejudicial and not sufficiently probative.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Convicted rapist argues that screen for victim at trial had prejudicial effect. Procedural stage: appeal

When:

• March 2020 Hearing Or Sentence
• 2003 and 2007 Incident
• 1978 and 1987 Other
• 1995 and 1996 Incident
• 2023-03-23 Publication

Why: The rapist (57), who cannot be named in order to protect the identity of his victim, had pleaded not guilty to 16 sample charges of anal rape of his then-wife between 2003 and 2007 at a location in Co Tipperary. CNI source report

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Appeal

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Read the original CNI report