Damien Reilly’s rape sentence upheld on appeal

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Damien Reilly’s eight-year prison sentence for rape and sexual assault was upheld by the Court of Appeal on 14 November 2017. The proceedings were reported on 14 November 2017.

He had pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to three counts of sexual assault and five counts of rape. The rape offences included oral and anal rape.

Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy sentenced him to eight years’ imprisonment on 11 January 2017. He also ordered three years of post-release supervision.

The offences occurred between 1994 and 2000, when the boy was aged between nine and approximately 14 and Reilly was between 17 and 22.

Hugh Hartnett SC, for Reilly, argued that the reduction from a 12-year headline sentence reflected the guilty plea at the earliest available opportunity, while other mitigating factors appeared not to have been taken into account. These included his childhood stroke, community contribution and the fact that he had not been in trouble before or since the offences.

Mr Justice Alan Mahon said the four-year reduction reflected all mitigating factors, rejecting the argument that mitigation other than the guilty plea had been excluded.

He said much of the offending was particularly grave, continued over many years and was committed against a young child while Reilly occupied a position of trust. Sitting with Mr Justice Seán Ryan and Mr Justice George Birmingham, he said the sentence might represent the outer limit of what was appropriate but remained within the sentencing judge’s discretion. The appeal was dismissed.