Man who raped woman with bottle sentenced to eight years in prison

A Supreme Court judge who sentenced a man to eight years in prison for raping a woman with a bottle spoke of the “importance of the concept of consent.”

Judge Tony Hunt made his remarks when handing down sentence against Jonathan (Johnny) Moran (26).

The victim, Bláthnaid Raleigh, had previously waived her anonymity so that Moran could be named in reporting on the case.

Judge Hunt warned that “consent is something that must be obtained”, adding that if it is not obtained, “you act at your own peril”.

“If this is not consensual sexual activity, it is sexual activity resulting in the commission of a serious sexual offence and there is no scope for anything other than an immediate, significant custodial sentence,” Judge Hunt continued.

Moran, of Tower View, Mullingar, Co Westmeath, was found guilty by a jury at the Central Criminal Court under Section 4 of the rape of Ms Raleigh in a garden shed in Galway on 21 July 2019.

At an earlier hearing, Ms Raleigh read her victim experience into the record. She told the court that she wanted to “stand by and advocate for other victims of sexual violence”, knowing that not every victim will live to see their attacker convicted.

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

The rape occurred after Ms Raleigh returned with Moran and some other young people to the AirBnB where Moran and his friends had been staying that weekend. They later moved out of the house and into a shed in the back garden of the property, where the rape took place.

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.

Severe injury

The court found that Ms Raleigh had suffered serious physical injuries that required months of treatment in a sexual offences clinic.

Sentencing Moran on Monday, Judge Hunt said it was very important that “people who are sexually active or considering it should remember the importance of consent.”

“Perhaps it would make a difference if younger people could be told about cases like Mr Moran’s and the consequences for him,” said Judge Hunt, adding that the consequences of not consenting could have “very far-reaching consequences”.

He also noted that these cases tend to “involve people who have never had any previous contact with the criminal justice system.”

“It’s important that people listen to these things and take them into consideration so that they don’t end up in this position themselves and don’t put people like Ms. Raleigh in this position.”

“It’s a shame that people don’t think a bit more about these things. I’m not lecturing here as an old person, but appealing to people to be a bit more careful about what they do,” Judge Hunt said, adding that his comments would be worth it if they stopped even two people from engaging in sexual acts without their consent.

He added that this is especially true when people carry out these activities without knowing each other, because as if they do not know each other well, “more efforts need to be made to provide clarity.”

“People seem willing to take extraordinary risks with people they don’t know particularly well,” commented Judge Hunt.

Judge Hunt acknowledged that Moran now accepted the jury’s verdict, but added: “We still have not received from him a comprehensible explanation as to why he did what he did.”

The judge also said he could not understand why it had taken so long for Moran to “get the message” given the “clearness of the evidence in this case”, adding that Ms Raleigh had been “very compelling both at trial and in her victim impact statement”.

“This forensic evidence speaks very, very loudly and very, very clearly to the truth of her complaint and the truth of her statement,” Judge Hunt continued.

The judge described Moran’s behaviour as “appalling” and added that it was completely unacceptable to treat another human being in this way. He noted that every human being has dignity and his behaviour was “completely and utterly unacceptable”.

Judge Hunt said anyone hearing Ms Raleigh’s evidence “would be impressed by her eloquence”, adding that he believed it would be better for the victims to speak for themselves.

He noted that she had suffered long-term physical injuries but said he had “no doubt” that she was able to carry on and wished her well for the future.

Judge Hunt imposed a maximum sentence of ten years, noting that aggravating circumstances included her physical injuries and the breach of trust in this case.

“She trusted him to a certain extent,” said Judge Hunt, accepting evidence at trial that they had clearly agreed to move from the house to the cottage. However, he added that “the trust she had placed in him was blatantly abused by his conduct”.

He acknowledged Moran’s “belated appreciation” of the jury’s verdict, his lack of previous convictions and his good working record before reducing the sentence to eight years.

The final year of the nine-year sentence was suspended by Judge Hunt on strict conditions, including that Moran must have no direct or indirect contact with Ms Raleigh indefinitely, must report to the Probation Service for 18 months and that he must keep the peace and be of good conduct for three years following his final release.

Smash

Ms. Raleigh gave her victim impact statement at a previous sentencing hearing.

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.”

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 said that she never felt safe, but that Moran has been “living a normal life since the incident.”

Ms Raleigh said her family had been her biggest support before she realised the impact the attack had had on her life. She said her brothers left the rugby club they had played for for 20 years as Moran was at 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 thanked the Rape 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.

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“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.

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.

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.