Serial sex offender remanded on bail for raping 13-year-old girl in Tipperary

A man who raped a 13-year-old girl while out on bail for raping another teenager has been sentenced to seven years in prison.

The man (22) admitted raping the 13-year-old girl and falsely imprisoning her 16-year-old friend after driving the two teenagers to Co Tipperary to buy weed on June 22 last year. He drove them to a dark and remote area and raped the younger girl while the other girl was locked in his car.

The Central Criminal Court heard that he was 21 years old at the time of the rape and deprivation of liberty and was out on bail. He was charged with rape.

In a victim impact statement read to the court during an earlier hearing, the younger girl described the crime as the worst thing she had ever experienced and her “worst nightmare”.

“It was the worst thing I could ever go through… It affected my mental health… I lost a lot of friends because of this incident. I don’t understand why,” she said. “I just wish it would all go away,” she added.

The court heard that the man has been in custody since his arrest and had no previous convictions at the time of this offence. However, he had been out on bail just nine days previously for the rape of a child under the age of 15 and has now been sentenced in connection with that offence.

In passing sentence, Judge Karen O’Connor said it was of great concern to the court that he had pleaded guilty to desecration just days before committing these offences.

Detective Garda James Kingston told the court that the complainants had given a brief overview to the Gardai in July last year.

The two girls were looking for a ride and the man said he would take them “to collect weed.”

He took them to a car park to pick up the cannabis and when they returned, he forcibly dragged the 13-year-old girl out of the car, trapping the older girl who was trying to help her friend stay in the car.

Then he locked the older girl in the car, walked away with the younger girl and put his penis in her mouth.

About 15 minutes later, he returned to the car and drove the girls to their accommodation.

The court heard the man knew her age as he was friends with her cousin. Judge O’Connor said the “huge age difference” between him and the 13-year-old was an aggravating circumstance to the offence, along with the fact he had driven the girls to obtain drugs.

The court also heard that he had sent the younger victim a photo of himself on Snapchat before the offence and asked her to send him a photo of herself back, which the judge said indicated “a form of grooming”.

Gardaí obtained Snapchat data and were able to piece together the times and routes travelled, as well as CCTV of the car park he drove them to. The man was arrested on 25 July 2023 for the rape and false imprisonment of the girls and was taken into custody and questioned.

The court heard that towards the end of the second Garda interview, the accused made an early plea and made a full and frank confession in which he said he apologised to the girls.

He apologized to both girls and told police: “I deserve this and I accept my punishment,” the court said.

The court heard he had made admissions and told Gardai he had a “mental health problem that needed to be treated”.

“I deserve a harsh punishment,” he added.

Judge O’Connor said these offences were both “a repetition and an escalation” of his previous sexual offences, but acknowledged that he had shown “some degree of remorse”.

The court found that his previous sentence of five years in prison, two of which were suspended, has now been activated and must be served before this sentence becomes final.

This means he will have to spend approximately two years in prison before he can begin his seven-year sentence.

Judge O’Connor also ordered him to abstain from alcohol and illegal drugs, to access mental health services and to attend all treatment programmes and offence-related activities as directed by the Probation Service, Túsla and An Garda Síochána.

She ordered that after his release he should be placed under probation supervision for three years and placed on the sex offenders’ register.

If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the 24-hour national rape crisis helpline on 1800-77 8888, access the text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis He.lp.