A 26 year old man who was found guilty of the rape of a woman in a garden shed has been jailed for eight years.
26-year-old Jonathan Moran, who has an address at Tower View, Mullingar in Co Westmeath, was found guilty of raping Bláthnaid Raleigh with a bottle in a garden shed in July 2019.
The assault took place as Raleigh, who has waived her right to anonymity, and a friend were attending Galway Arts Festival and happened upon a group who were from their hometown.
Raleigh and her friend accompanied the group, of which Moran was a member, back to a property the group had rented out for the weekend.
Sometime later her friend left the scene with another member of the group, who had rented the propert,y but Raleigh stayed on in the company of the others including Moran.
Although Moran denied responsibility throughout the court proceedings saying that the sexual activity was consensual, DNA was discovered on three bottles with the court hearing that Raleigh had entered a garden shed on the property with Moran and soon discovered that she was unable to open the door.
He has no previous convictions nor had he previously come to the attention of Gardaî.
She said that Moran had forced himself on her in the shed, molesting her and forcing her head against the shed door where he raped her.
At a previous hearing of the case prosecuting Garda Sharon Noone said that while “trapped” in the shed Raleigh was “unable to move or get a grip on anything and she was trapped”, the Garda said.
Sentencing Judge Mr. Justice Tony Hunt described Moran’s contact as “unacceptable”.
The court heard that Raleigh was left with extensive physical injuries and had to endure months of ongoing treatment.
In her victim impact statement she said that prior to the rape she had been a typical 21-year-0ld who was “finding her feet” as an adult and studying,
She described herself before the assault as “carefree and fun” saying how the aftermath had left her struggling with “countless sleepless nights” as well as the physical pain of her injuries.
Wishing Raleigh well, Judge Hunt sentenced Moran to nine years in prison with the final year suspended.
He commended her on her ‘articulate’ evidence and wished her well in recovering from her “life-changing experience”.