Michael Murray jailed for rape as sentence increased to 19 years

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

Michael Murray was resentenced to 19 years in prison by the Court of Appeal on 3 November 2017 after the Director of Public Prosecutions successfully challenged his original 15-year term for rape and related offences.

The offences included rape, attempted rape, oral rape, aggravated sexual assault, child abduction, threats to kill or cause serious harm, false imprisonment and theft at a Dublin apartment on 12 and 13 February 2010. The Central Criminal Court had imposed the original 15-year sentence, while the Court of Appeal’s three-judge panel comprised Justice George Birmingham, Justice Alan Mahon and Justice John Edwards.

Murray denied the charges but was found guilty on every count by a unanimous jury verdict. His defence was that the woman was a prostitute or escort working for him through an agency he ran; the report said that proposition was rejected by her.

The appeal court said 20 or 21 years would have been appropriate at first instance, but substituted 19 years because part of the original sentence had been served and the initial release date was near. The proceedings were reported on 3 November 2017.