A young woman who was raped by her 62-year-old landlord has said that she is living a “life sentence” as a result of what had occurred whilst describing the showing of her underwear in court during the trial as being an “out of body experience.”
The grandfather and father of three —who cannot be identified for legal reasons - was last month convicted of raping the woman by a 10-2 majority verdict.
The trial, which occurred at a sitting of the Central Criminal Court in Cork, heard that the rape of the woman occurred on May 2022 at a property in Cork. The man had plied the woman with alcohol.
The man had rented a property which had partially shared facilities to the young woman and her fiancé. The defendant shared washing and cooking facilities with the couple.
The woman is over three decades younger than the landlord.
On May 28th, 2022 the man said that he had just opened a bottle of wine and texted the woman asking her if would she like to share a drink.
Having shared a drink the man poured a brandy for her and then kept topping up her glass. She had not consented to the filling up of her glass.
The woman passed out and when she awoke on a sofa her clothes had been taken off and the man was having sex with her. She tried to push the man off her and told him to stop.
In a victim impact statement the woman said she felt that the man was without a shred of remorse for his actions. She stated that he had “disrespected and defiled her” using her as an object for his own “warped sense of pleasure."
She said whilst she got the highest standard of care the experience of going to the sexual assault clinic was “like being a corpse in a morgue.”
“I was numb and broken. I felt like I had died inside.”
The woman suffers from PTSD, depression, panic attacks chest pains, nightmares and flashbacks arising out of what was done to her.
She said that every aspect of the trial was an ordeal.
"I found every aspect of the trial to be traumatising.
"I found the cross-examination to be highly humiliating. I felt my intelligence was insulted. I felt stupid and belittled. My honesty and integrity were challenged and that was hard to bear, especially with all that I had been through already.
"My underwear (being) shown in court and my SATU (Sexual Assault Trauma Unit) examination report being read out was another out of body experience."
She said that it was “distressing” to have to listen to the landlord’s fabricated account of what had occurred.
"We both knew the truth. Firstly, committing the crime was such a violent and degrading act but then to drag me through the entire trial process advocating your innocence...was a further degradation."
"The gruesome memory of what you did to me will never leave me. As a victim, this is a life sentence.”
The woman urged other victims of sexual violence to come forward.
“I urge you to take back your power - speak your truth. You will be believed.
"Each time you speak out you are reducing the social silence that these monsters thrive in."
"I commend anyone who has done this before me and to those suffering in silence I encourage you to find your inner strength and courage because you have it."
The woman said that it was quite scary to think that individuals like the accused exist in society.
“People like you who have lived all their lives to the age they are thinking its ok to treat a woman like you treated me.
"You have taken my right to live a normal life, my freedom. As a human and as a woman I should have the free will to be in any place, at any time, wearing whatever I wear, drunk or sober without the risk of being raped.
"Your chosen actions are a direct violation of a person's autonomy and free will. My ability to choose was forcefully taken away from me, by you.
"There is so much I want to say about how victims are treated in the Criminal Justice System and even though I had great support from the gardaí and others the experience was devastating and cruel.
"I am grateful to the jury. that they found you guilty and now you are being held to account for what you did to me.”
She said that what the man had done to her was an “utter violation” of her mind, body and soul.
“What you did to me was an utter violation of my mind, my body and my soul.
"Aside from the utter disrespect of raping me, you put my life at risk," she said.
"To me this is a deeper aspect of the crime you committed. You left me exposed to STIs, HIV, pregnancy and cervical cancer.
"I still cannot fully put into words how this part of the crime has shaken me to my core. It is the ultimate disrespect to someone's life."
The woman thanked Dt Garda Rachel McGrath and Mary Crilly of the Cork Sexual Violence Centre for their help.
Conor Devally SC, for the State, that the woman was in a vulnerable position given that she was the tenant of the accused. He told the court that the accused had deliberately plied the woman with alcohol. The man had claimed that he had consensual sex with the woman.
Ms Justice Siobhan Lankford adjourned sentencing in the case to April 11th next.
The landlord was remanded in custody until his next court appearance.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help.
