Victim of 'predatory' rape says 22-month wait on sentence appeal put 'question mark' over justice

A woman who was raped at eighteen has welcomed the Court of Appeal's decision to uphold a seven-year custodial sentence imposed on her attacker. The complainant, who waived anonymity, told the court that a 22-month delay in determining the appeal had prolonged her distress and cast doubt on the justice she believed she had received at sentencing two years prior. The defendant, aged thirty and from Castlebar, County Mayo, pleaded guilty to the rape, which occurred in May 2013 at an address in Castlebar. He was sentenced in July 2023 to eight years imprisonment with the final twelve months suspended. The Court of Appeal found the sentence appropriate given the gravity of the offence and the substantial harm caused to the victim. The defendant's counsel had argued the headline sentence was excessive, but the court dismissed the appeal, finding no error in principle.