A High Court judge told a rape victim that hearing the recording of her 999 call was deeply disturbing and something she would never forget, reports The Mirror.
The woman was assaulted by a man known to her while she was asleep after they had attended a party together, reports The Mirror.
The man, who cannot be identified in order to protect the victim’s anonymity, was convicted following a trial at the Central Criminal Court of raping the woman at a location in Dublin on December 18, 2021.
During the trial, the jury was played a recording of her 999 call. At the sentencing hearing, Ms Justice Karen O’Connor told the woman: “It was chilling to hear your voice and how it sounded on that call, I found it chilling; it’s not a call I am going to forget”, reports The Mirror.
The court also heard a recording of a conversation in which the man told another individual that he should go in and sleep with the woman.
On Friday, Ms Justice O’Connor said the man had taken advantage of the woman’s “utter vulnerability” while she slept and said the “disrespectful manner” in which he referred to her in the recording was troubling, reports The Mirror.
She noted that the man continues to maintain that the sexual encounter was consensual and that he has shown no remorse.
Taking into account his personal circumstances, she imposed a seven-year sentence, backdated to when he entered custody in March, reports The Mirror.
Ms Justice O’Connor thanked the woman for the dignity she showed throughout the trial and wished her and her family well in the future.
An investigating garda had previously told the court that the woman became acquainted with the man while they were both living in the same apartment complex, reports The Mirror.
On the night in question, the woman attended a house for a birthday party of a man she had grown close to. People were eating and drinking, and she consumed vodka mixed with cranberry juice, leaving her slightly tipsy but not intoxicated, the detective said.
The defendant arrived as people were preparing to leave for an “after party” at her friend’s house, and he ended up sharing a taxi with the woman to travel there, reports The Mirror.
When she arrived, she was surprised to find her friend absent, with only the defendant and another man present. She became upset and told them she was going to sleep in a bedroom.
The woman took off her coat and shoes but remained in her dress before going to sleep under the duvet, reports The Mirror.
She later woke to pain in her lower body and realised a man was penetrating her.
It was dark and she did not know who it was, and she immediately tried to push him away. The man pinned her down by the shoulders and forced her back.
When she felt her attacker’s hair, she realised it was not the man she had become close to, which caused her to “fight even harder”, the court heard, reports The Mirror.
She managed to get to her feet and saw the defendant.
She was left in shock, confused and distressed. She later told gardaí that whenever she tried to push him away, he would pin her down again, reports The Mirror.
As she left the apartment, she asked the other man “why didn’t you help” and believed the assault had been planned. She went outside and called 999, and when the defendant followed her onto the street, she moved away from him, the court heard.
She went to a garda station that night, where it was noted she had bruising on her arms from trying to fight off her attacker, reports The Mirror.
The second man in the apartment told the trial that the woman came out of the bedroom and said “this man raped me”, appearing visibly upset.
Following his arrest, the defendant told gardaí that the woman had initiated the sexual activity and that it was consensual. He denied the rape and does not accept the jury’s verdict, defence counsel Carol Doherty BL told the court, reports The Mirror.
In her victim impact statement, the woman said she became withdrawn and depressed after the assault. She said she felt betrayed by the defendant, which has affected her ability to trust others.
She said she has suffered nightmares, panic attacks, insomnia and heart palpitations since the incident, reports The Mirror.
She also said she has struggled to care for her children and has been unable to maintain a relationship since.
The woman described the trial as “extremely difficult and retraumatising” and said that hearing the recording of her 999 call in court brought her back to the attack and caused significant distress, reports The Mirror.
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