Man loses appeal against rape conviction
The Court of Criminal Appeal has rejected an appeal by a man against his conviction and seven-year jail sentence for raping a then 14-year-old babysitter at knifepoint in 1996.
Thomas O'Regan (aged 32), of O'Neill Place, Killavullen, Mallow, Co Cork, was convicted in 2003 of raping the girl between May 1 and July 1, 1996.
The five-day trial at the Central Criminal Court was told the rape took place at a house where the girl was babysitting and that O'Regan knew the owners of the house.
Mr Justice Michael Peart sentenced O'Regan to seven years in prison and O'Regan has appealed against both conviction and sentence.
He has served just more than seven months of the sentence and has been remanded on bail for the last four years as aspects of his appeal were subject to a determination by the Supreme Court.
Yesterday, the three judge CCA, with Mr Justice Joseph Finnegan presiding and sitting with Mr Justice Kevin Feeney and Mr Justice Brian McGovern, rejected O'Regan's appeal.
His appeal against sentence was adjourned and a hearing will be fixed at a later date. The court also agreed to remand O'Regan on bail for two weeks, after which he must return to prison.
Giolliosa Ó Lideadha SC, for O'Regan, argued that "a real risk of a miscarriage of justice" existed in this case. Counsel said that, during the trial, a friend of the girl had given evidence about a conversation they had concerning what had allegedly happened in the house.
The account by the friend of what the girl said to her about the incident and the details of the girl's own complaint were different and inconsistent with each other, he said.
Further grounds of the appeal included that the trial judge had erred in his charge to the jury in the manner in which he addressed the issue of statements made by O'Regan.
The DPP had opposed the appeal.
Yesterday in dismissing all grounds of the appeal Mr Justice Finnegan said the court was satisfied that the victim's friend's account of the conversation she had with the complainant was "not evidence of a complaint that she had been raped".
The Judge said that O'Regan's defence could have cross examined the complaint's friends about the contents of their conversation at the trial but chose not to do so.
The Judge added that the trial judge had not erred in his charge the jury in relation to statements made by O'Regan.
O'Regan's trial at the Central Criminal Court was told the girl was watching television when O'Regan knocked on the door at midnight.
The trial was told O'Regan had attacked the girl and held something sharp to her throat which felt like a knife.
She struggled, but he said he would hurt her if she did not do what he wanted and then raped her on a bed and against a wall, the court heard. O'Regan had denied the claims.
