J.K. given concurrent rape sentences after appeal

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

J.K. was given concurrent sentences of six years for attempted rape and nine years for rape by the Court of Appeal on 16 January 2025.

The offences were count 1, attempted rape, and counts 2 to 5, rape. A Central Criminal Court retrial conviction was recorded on 8 June 2018, after which that court sentenced J.K. on 27 July 2018.

The original sentence included the final 12 months suspended subject to participation in the Better Lives Programme. J.K. appealed, arguing that the condition was unlawful and unfair because he had maintained his innocence; he had denied the allegations when interviewed under caution on 21 December 2014.

The Court of Appeal, in a judgment delivered by Mr. Justice Edwards with McCarthy J. and Kennedy J., quashed the sentence and re-sentenced J.K. The unserved balance of the nine-year sentences was suspended for one year from release, subject to a €100 bond to keep the peace and be of good behaviour, Probation Service supervision, and compliance with its directions. The appeal was allowed.