Young woman raped with bottle in Galway – bravely waives anonymity to name attacker

A woman who was raped with a bottle after a night of drinking said she wanted to “support and advocate for other victims of sexual violence” because she was aware that not all victims live to see their attacker convicted.

Bláthnaid Raleigh waived her anonymity in order to Jonathan (aka Johnny) Moran (26) be named when reporting on the case.

Moran of Tower View, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath, was found guilty by a jury at the Central Criminal Court of the Section 4 rape of Ms Railleigh by penetrating her vagina with a bottle, and of aggravated sexual assault by penetrating her anus with a bottle, in a garden shed in Galway on 21 July 2019.

Fiona Murphy SC, defending, said her client had “found it difficult to come to terms with the case” but now accepted the jury’s verdicts and was remorseful. The court heard he had no previous convictions and came from a good, hard-working family.

Mrs Raleigh also comes from Mullingar and Moran played rugby with her brothers in the local club. She was with a friend at the Arts Festival in Galway when she happened to Moran and other people from their hometown.

The rape occurred after Ms Raleigh Moran and some other young people to the AirBnB that Moran and his friends stayed home that weekend.

Moran claimed that the sex acts that night were consensual and denied that he used any instruments in the assault on Ms Raleigh. Her DNA was found on the mouth of three plastic liquor bottles following a forensic examination of the shed.

The court found that Ms Raleigh had suffered serious physical injuries which required months of treatment on the sexual offences unit.

Ms Raleigh read her victim impact statement into the record. She said she had not felt comfortable using the word rape until she had “received confirmation from the court,” but the conviction at trial now allows her to use it. She said Moran she “gave the shame back to you”.

She said that before the attack she was a typical 21-year-old in her final year of college “finding her way into adulthood” and described herself as “carefree and fun”. She said that after the attack, “her life was completely destroyed”.

Ms Raleigh referred to the physical injuries she suffered as a result of the attack, which resulted in her needing months of “invasive and ongoing” treatment at the sex offender treatment unit. “It was a constant and physical reminder of the damage that was being done to my body,” she said.

She said she still suffers from the pain of those injuries and described “endless sleepless nights, vivid nightmares and flashbacks.”

“I don’t enjoy normal things anymore – my body doesn’t enjoy new things anymore,” Ms Raleigh said.

She said the attack “still haunts my daily life” and she fears that “men see her as damaged goods.”

Ms Raleigh said the attack had “destroyed my life because someone decided to hurt me”, adding that she no longer enjoys going out because she is constantly worried about the safety of those around her.

She talked about how she never feels in a safe place, but Moran “has been leading a normal life since the incident.”

Ms Raleigh said her family had been her biggest support before she realised how much the attack had affected her life. She said her brothers had left the rugby club they had played for for 20 years when Moran was in the same club.

She said she experienced “fear, anger, sadness and loss.” She said the process “felt so pointless” at times, but she was so grateful to “those 12 people who believed me.”

Ms Raleigh said she hoped to be a “support and advocate for other victims of sexual violence” before acknowledging that some people do not get as far as she did and her attacker is convicted.

Ms Raleigh thanked the Rape Victim Crisis Centre and the Gardaí.

“There are physical and emotional scars that need to heal,” Ms Raleigh said, adding that when she tells people what happened to her, they tell her she is so strong.

“I don’t want to be strong. I feel betrayed because this is my life,” Ms Raleigh said, before describing how something can trigger her, leading to trouble sleeping.

She said she is now moving on to the next phase of her life.

Judge Tony Hunt retracted MoranBail was revoked and he was remanded in custody pending sentencing on July 1.