Dublin man jailed for rape with three years suspended

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

A 76-year-old Dublin man was sentenced to 11 years in prison, with the final three years suspended, at the Central Criminal Court. The proceedings were reported on 4 March 2024.

He had pleaded not guilty to charges of rape and indecent assault against a girl who was then 15. The offences took place in Dublin between November 1988 and August 1989. A jury convicted him of two charges of rape and three charges of indecent assault following an eight-day trial in February 2024.

Mr Justice Patrick McGrath said the rape offences warranted a 12-year headline sentence. He cited the teenager’s vulnerability, the escalating nature of the offending and a degree of premeditation. In suspending the final three years, he considered the man’s age and previous good character among the mitigating factors.

The judge said the man must engage with the Probation Service upon his release, have no direct or indirect contact with the woman or her family, and have no unsupervised access to children under 18.