A 20-year-old Tipperary man has been convicted by a jury of raping a 75-year-old widow at her home two years ago.
Joseph Cummins, St Joseph's Park, Nenagh, Co Tipperary, had denied two counts of raping the elderly pensioner on May 22, 2005 and a further charge of stealing money from her home on the same date.
Today after the unanimous guily verdict was returned at the Central Criminal Court itn Limerick it was revealed that Mr Cummins has 60 previous convictions.
The court also heard that the 20-year-old was on bail at the time he committed, what Mr Justice Paul Carney described as an "appalling outrage", on his elderly victim.
During the trial the 75-year-old victim in the case gave a harrowing account of how she was raped twice by an intruder at her home on the night of May 22, 2005.
The elderly pensioner who lives alone was pushed onto an armchair by her assailant who raped her for about 10 minutes before anally raping her, the court heard.
The widow told the court how her night-dress was pulled over her head during the attack and how she was warned that she would never walk the streets again if she called the gardaí.
After the verdict was returned, the elderly woman who sat in court throughout the trial accompanied by her five daughters and one grand-daughter, said she was "glad it was all over" and agreed that Nenagh was "a safer place tonight" now that Mr Cummins was in custody.
Mr Justice Carney adjourned sentencing in the case until March 12 next but before dismissing the jury he complimented the gardaí from Nenagh for their "classic police work" which led to the cracking of the case where an "appalling outrage was perpetrated on the victim".
Mr Justice Carney declared Mr Cummins a sex offender and remanded him in custody.