Man to be sentenced for rape of woman with Down Syndrome in Dublin
A man will be sentenced today for raping a woman with Down Syndrome after luring her back to his flat in Dublin during the summer of 2013.
Faisal Ellahi, who is from Haripur in Pakistan, was found guilty just a few days before Christmas following a five-week trial.
After the jury came back with the guilty verdict on Dec 18, Mr Justice Tony Hunt described the case as the most difficult one he has ever dealt with.
The victim was not asked to come to court in person, but she was cross-examined about what happened through a live video link.
The court heard she became separated from her mother while out for a jog in Dublin on an afternoon in June 2013.
Faisal Ellahi stopped her on the street and brought her back to his apartment where he claimed they had “consensual sexual contact”.
He denied knowing she had an intellectual disability and told Gardaí he had never even heard of Down Syndrome.
The jury did not believe him and found him guilty after two and a half hours of deliberations.
The 34-year-old will be sentenced later this morning.
