Courts / Dublin / Report

Psychological report on man who raped Down Syndrome woman won't be used in mitigation

Date
2016-02-16
Stage
Sentence
Primary locality
Dublin
County
Dublin

Summary

In a case heard at the Central Criminal Court, Faisal Ellahi, aged 34, was convicted of raping a young woman with Down syndrome after luring her to his home. The court had repeatedly adjourned sentencing to allow the defence to prepare a psychological report claiming Ellahi had a very low IQ. The report was not ready, and counsel for Ellahi, Padraig Dwyer SC, informed the court that no further psychological evidence would be presented. Judge Tony Hunt adjourned the case until 14 March for sentencing, allowing the victim to observe the proceedings via video link. Ellahi, originally from Haripur in Pakistan, had pleaded not guilty to rape, sexual assault and having sex with a mentally impaired person, and was convicted of rape and sexual assault. The defence had argued that Ellahi's IQ was 73, below the threshold of 70 for mental disability, but the psychologist's assessment could not be used for mitigation because it lacked a lie‑scale test.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Psychological report on man who raped Down Syndrome woman won't be used in mitigation. Procedural stage: sentence. Findings: Convicted

When:

Why: The case was most recently adjourned on Monday to today because the report was not ready. CNI source report

Case subjects

Faisal Ellahi

Convicted Person

Plea: Not guilty

Finding: Convicted

Outcome: Convicted; He adjourned the case until March 14 when he will issue sentence.; Sentencing of Ellahi has been repeatedly adjourned to allow the defence prepare a psychological report to back up the claim that Ellahi has a very low IQ.

Places mentioned

Court Venue
  • Central Criminal Court
Incident

Topics

Sexual Offences Stage Sentence Violent Crime

Related court reports

Read the original CNI report

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