Man who attempted to rape escort asks court for time to go on family holiday
A father-of-four who ordered an escort to have sex with him at knife-point has been refused a request to delay sentencing so he could go on a family holiday.
Paul Rooney (aged 30) of Sherrard Court in Dublin city centre, pleaded guilty to the attempted rape of the eastern European woman on April 2, 2010.
Garda David Hoare told Dominic McGinn SC, prosecuting, that the woman had been booked from an escort agency over the phone and driven to Rooney's house in a taxi.
Rooney asked the woman to put on a school uniform and while she was changing he walked into the room with a kitchen knife and held it to her throat.
He told the woman he wasn’t going to hurt her and just wanted sex. She struggled and managed to snatch the knife away before fleeing the house semi-naked.
Rooney was arrested later that night and denied the charges. He told gardaí he paid the woman €300 but she refused to go through with the requested services.
Investigating gardaí later found some of the woman’s belongings, including clothes and a mobile phone, hidden around Rooney’s house.
A trial date was set for earlier this year, but Rooney pleaded guilty on morning it was due to go ahead.
Blaise O’Carroll SC, defending, made an application on two grounds for the sentence hearing to be adjourned until October. He said the family had booked a holiday to Spain and asked for more time for his client to save money for compensation.
The Central Criminal Court heard that Rooney – who works as a courier - could currently offer €2,000 but hoped to increase that to €6,000 by October.
Mr Justice Paul Carney said he had "absolutely no intention" of putting the sentencing back so Rooney could enjoy a holiday and said he was not satisfied that he had the means to generate extra compensation.
The victim has returned to her home country but had written a victim impact statement which was handed into court.
The woman said she feels nervous, scared and paranoid since the incident and was “afraid to go outside her apartment in case she bumped into Mr Rooney”.
Mr McGinn said the woman was not able to continue working as an escort and couldn’t sleep or eat for days after the incident.
The court heard that Rooney has 40 previous convictions and has struggled with alcohol problems.
Mr Justice Carney adjourned finalisation of the sentencing until next Monday and told the defence they will have to make a better case for Rooney’s ability to pay compensation to the victim.
