'Age is just a number': rapist who went on the run after plying girl (16) with drink is jailed

A man has been sentenced to five and a half years imprisonment at the Central Criminal Court following his conviction for the rape of a teenager in Roscommon. Nicolas Horvath, aged 28 and formerly of Stonecourt, Roscommon, pleaded guilty to one count of rape on 11 December 2020. The court heard that Horvath and an associate engaged the victim, then aged 16, while she socialised with friends in a park. He plied her with alcohol, made sexual remarks including the phrase "age is just a number," and subsequently brought her to a secluded area where the rape occurred. The victim resisted and a friend intervened. Horvath fled the jurisdiction to Slovakia in 2022 and was extradited to Ireland in December of that year. Ms Justice Melanie Greally imposed a sentence of six and a half years with the final year suspended, subject to conditions including that Horvath depart the jurisdiction within seven days of release and remain absent for fifteen years.