Woman raped with bottle says to attacker: “I return the shame to you”

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 so that John (aka Johnny) Moran (26) could be named in reporting on the case.

Moran, of Tower View, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath, was found guilty by a jury at the Central Criminal Court of raping Ms Raleigh under Section 4 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.

READ MORE: Shark Hanlon reacts to video of his horse truck pulling a dead horse in the trailer through an Irish village

READ MORE: Jogger hospitalized after attack by dog ​​in Donegal

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.

Ms Raleigh is also from Mullingar and Moran played rugby with her brothers at the local club. She was with a friend at the Arts Festival in Galway when they happened to bump into 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 were staying 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 liquor bottles following a forensic examination of the shed. The court heard Ms Raleigh suffered serious physical injuries that required months of treatment in the sexual assault 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 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, describing “endless sleepless nights, vivid nightmares and flashbacks.” “I don’t enjoy general things anymore – my body doesn’t get excited about new things anymore,” Ms Raleigh said. She said the attack “still haunts me in my daily life” and she fears “men see me 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 as she constantly worries about the safety of those around her. She spoke of never feeling safe but 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 had left the rugby club they had played for for 20 years as Moran was at the same club. She said she had experienced “fear, anger, grief and loss”. She said the justice process had “felt so pointless” at times, but she said 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, with their attacker being convicted. Ms Raleigh thanked the Rape Victim Crisis Centre and the police. “There are physical and emotional scars that need to heal,” Ms Raleigh said, adding that people tell her how strong she is when she tells what happened to her.

“I don’t want to be strong. I feel cheated that this is my life,” Ms Raleigh said, before describing how something can trigger her, causing her to have trouble sleeping. She said she was now moving on to the next phase of her life. Judge Tony Hunt revoked Moran’s bail and remanded him in custody until July 1 for sentencing.

Subscribe to the Irish Mirror breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to get breaking news and headlines delivered straight to your phone. We also treat our community members with special offers, promotions and advertising from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can always check out. If you’re curious, you can check out our Data protection.