Courts / Donegal / Report
Rapist's conviction for repeatedly attacking teenage school girl is upheld
Summary
A man from Donegal has failed in his appeal against conviction for the repeated rape of a teenage girl in July 2016. The Court of Appeal dismissed all grounds of appeal on 22 March 2024. The man, now aged 29, was sentenced to seven years imprisonment at the Central Criminal Court in January 2020 after a jury returned unanimous guilty verdicts on four counts of rape at two locations in the county. During sentencing, Justice Tara Burns described his conduct as vile and despicable. The victim, now in her twenties, provided a victim impact statement detailing how the attacks had transformed her from a confident young person into someone struggling with trauma and panic attacks. The appellant's legal team challenged the trial judge's handling of prosecution counsel's closing speech, questioned whether the word "stop" had been shouted during the assault, and objected to the admission of Facebook messages. The three-judge panel, led by Justice George Birmingham, found no merit in any of these contentions and upheld the conviction in full.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Rapist's conviction for repeatedly attacking teenage school girl is upheld. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- January 2020 Hearing Or Sentence
- July 2016 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2024-03-22 Publication
Why: In rejecting this ground of appeal, Mr Justice Birmingham said it had always been open to the defendant in interview to say he never heard the complainant shout or say stop and claim that he did not hear it, because it was not said. CNI source report
Case subjects
Convicted Person
Outcome: A Donegal man who was jailed for seven years for repeatedly raping a teenage school girl when she was too drunk to resist has failed in a bid to overturn his conviction.
Places mentioned
- Central Criminal Court
Topics
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