The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal against the severity of an eight-year prison sentence imposed on Erick Mukoko for rape, finding no error of principle by the sentencing judge.
Mukoko pleaded guilty to one count of rape in the Central Criminal Court on 13 May 2019. On 21 October 2019, White J identified a headline sentence of 11 years and imposed eight years’ imprisonment, backdated to 15 July 2019, when Mukoko first went into custody. The sentence also included two years of post-release supervision from his release date, conditional on him remaining in Ireland.
The appeal court described the offence as particularly serious. It said Mukoko took advantage of a period when the complainant’s friend and the apartment owner were absent. The complainant had consumed alcohol, and the court found that significant force was used to push and hold her down. She suffered bleeding and discharge as a result of the rape.
The court also noted that the sentencing judge had considered the complainant’s victim impact statement, which described lasting effects on her life. Mitigating matters included Mukoko’s guilty plea, lack of previous convictions in Ireland, difficult background in the Democratic Republic of Congo and scope for rehabilitation. The sentencing judge had treated the plea with some reservation because it came after denials during Garda interviews. The probation report assessed Mukoko as presenting a moderate-to-high risk of sexual reoffending.
Mukoko argued that the headline sentence was excessive and that the sentencing judge had not given sufficient weight to mitigation, including his plea, record and personal circumstances. The Court of Appeal rejected that argument, holding that the headline sentence was appropriate and within the judge’s discretion, and that mitigation had received the required weight in setting the eight-year term.
The judgment, delivered by McCarthy J on 10 December 2021, dismissed the appeal. It did not alter the sentence or the post-release supervision order.