Man who raped woman with bottle after night out in Galway sentenced to nine years in prison – The Irish Times

A man who raped a woman with a bottle after a night of drinking has been sentenced to nine years in prison, with the final year suspended, by Dublin’s Central Criminal Court.

Passing sentence on Monday, Judge Tony Hunt described the crimes of Jonathan (aka) Johnny Moran (26), of Tower View, Mullingar, Co Westmeath, as “appalling” and “incomprehensible” behaviour.

He was found guilty in Galway in July 2019 of the rape of Blathnaid Raleigh, then 21 years old.

She waived her right to anonymity so that Moran could be named in reporting on the case.

Moran played rugby with her brothers at the local club in Mullingar. She was with a friend at the Arts Festival in Galway when they happened to meet Moran and other people from her home town.

The rape occurred after Ms Raleigh returned with Moran and several other young people to the AirBnB accommodation where Moran and his friends had stayed that weekend.

Moran claimed the sex acts that night were consensual and denied using any instruments in the assault on Ms Raleigh. Her DNA was found on the mouth of three plastic bottles of liquor 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 at a court session last month. 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 told Moran she was “passing the shame back on you”.

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