A teenage girl who was raped and sexually assaulted in a forest has told a court she considered taking her own life after the incident involving two young men, aged 15 and 17, reports The Irish Times.
In January, a Central Criminal Court jury found the two defendants, now aged 19 and 17, guilty of six of the eight charges they faced in the July 26, 2020 incident.
The older defendant was convicted of one count of rape, one count of oral rape, and two counts of sexual assault. The younger teen was convicted of one count of oral rape and one count of sexual assault.
A victim impact statement from the girl was read into evidence at a sentencing hearing in Cork on Friday. In it, she said that she developed an eating disorder and became depressed after the ordeal.
The girl said that she had been “happy growing up but that night changed everything”, reports The Irish Times.
She also stated that she had dropped out of school after the incident, given up all of her hobbies, and isolated herself from most of her friends. “I get up in the day time, starve myself and then take Xanax and sleeping tablets to knock myself out most days so that I don’t have to feel what happened,” reports The Irish Times.
At trial it was heard that on the night of the rape and sexual assault, the victim had been drinking wine and cider with her best friend and other people.
Conor Devally SC, prosecutor, said the youths “continued to assault” the girl even after she fell into a ditch while trying to pull up her leggings.
Mark Nicholas, defense attorney for the older defendant, described what happened as a “grim business” and said his client accepted the verdict. He said that his client had just turned 17 at the time and that the incident occurred during a period of great turmoil and loss in his family.
Seamus Clark SC, for the younger defendant, denied a suggestion made by Mr Devally that there was a level of “premeditation” in the defendants’ actions. He said his client now understands the damage his actions have caused, reports The Irish Times.
The defendants were remanded in custody and will be sentenced in a Dublin-based court on March 23.
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