The Court of Appeal has rejected an attempt by B.M. to reopen his sentence for the sexual assault of a 16-year-old girl after later evidence emerged about who supplied her with alcohol.
B.M., who was 19 at the time, met his former girlfriend E.C. on 29 April 2014. Another man was also present. The group drove around for several hours before meeting again that evening. At a later location, E.C. was given alcohol and became increasingly intoxicated.
The judgment records that B.M. repeatedly attempted sexual intercourse with her but was unsuccessful because of her condition. The other man also attempted sexual intercourse.
B.M. later drove E.C. close to where he had collected her, pulled her from the car and left her unconscious on a footpath in a state of undress. Her shoes, socks and other clothing were thrown on top of her. Members of the public later found her in a hysterical state.
B.M. pleaded guilty to sexual assault in November 2015. He was initially sentenced to seven years with the final year suspended. A previous appeal increased the suspended portion to two years after the Court of Appeal found insufficient weight had been given to his remorse and compensation offered from limited means.
The present application relied on evidence E.C. later gave during the co-accused’s 2018 trial. B.M. argued that her admission she had lied in her first Garda statement, particularly about who provided the alcohol, undermined the factual basis of his sentence.
The Court of Appeal disagreed. It said discrepancies about the alcohol had already arisen at sentencing and on the earlier appeal and could have been explored then through a fact-finding hearing.
The original sentencing judge had stated only that E.C. “was given alcohol”, without attributing that act to B.M. The court also stressed that both men participated in the sexual assault.
It found nothing approaching a miscarriage of justice and dismissed the sentence-review application.