Keith Hearne's rape sentence appeal dismissed

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

The Court of Appeal dismissed Keith Hearne’s appeal against his 12-year prison sentence for rape and related offences. Ms Justice Kennedy delivered the judgment on 13 May 2019. The proceedings were reported on 13 May 2019.

Hearne pleaded guilty to rape under section 2 of the Criminal Law (Rape) Act 1981, rape under section 4 of the Criminal Law (Rape) (Amendment) Act 1990, false imprisonment and sexual assault.

The Central Criminal Court sentenced him on 19 June 2017. The sentencing judge identified a 15-year headline sentence for the two rape counts and reduced it by three years for the guilty plea. Concurrent sentences of 12 years for false imprisonment and six years for sexual assault were imposed, along with five years of post-release supervision.

The offences took place on 4 July 2015 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Blanchardstown, where the woman was volunteering at a convention. The judgment said Hearne locked her in a room, assaulted and raped her. A third party entered the room and tackled him.

The appeal court found that the sentencing judge had failed to consider whether Hearne’s mental disorder might affect his ability to serve a prison sentence and had also failed to treat his lack of previous convictions as a mitigating factor. The court nevertheless held that the errors made no substantive difference and that a 12-year sentence was warranted.