Courts

Man jailed for rape after gardaí found videos of him sexually assaulting girlfriend while she slept

Judge says recordings were a ‘gross violation’ of former partner’s privacy and were ‘weaponised’ by accused when he became angry

Mr Justice Paul McDermott in the Dublin District Court sentenced the man to six years in jail with the final 12 months suspended. Photograph: Matt Kavanagh
Mr Justice Paul McDermott in the Dublin District Court sentenced the man to six years in jail with the final 12 months suspended. Photograph: Matt Kavanagh
Sonya McLean
Wed May 01 2024 - 20:41

A woman discovered her boyfriend had been sexually assaulting her while she slept after gardaí analysed his phone because she was concerned he was going to share a video of them having sex.

The 25-year-old man pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to rape, attempted rape and recording an image of the woman without her consent on dates between September and October 2021. He has no previous convictions.

The woman contacted a hotline for victims of sexual violence in November 2021 after she was informed by an acquaintance that her ex-boyfriend might be sharing intimate images of her with others.

The investigating inspector told Dean Kelly SC, prosecuting, that during a follow-up meeting with the woman, she reported a previous incident of rape in October 2021. She said it occurred following consensual sex between them.

READ SOME MORE

She said she had “gone along” with her boyfriend but was not really into it and asked him to stop. She said she got into a different bed in the room but the accused, who was “really angry”, got in with her, said he was not finished and raped her.

The woman also told gardaí the accused had previously shown her a photograph of his penis next to her face which was taken while she was sleeping.

She said she suffered from insomnia, took medication to help her sleep and fell deeply asleep as a result. She told gardaí she realised the accused had taken numerous images while she was sleeping and told him to stop as she was uncomfortable with this.

As part of their investigation, gardaí contacted the accused and took his phone for analysis. It was during this that they discovered eight videos taken over the course of two hours one morning in September 2021. The videos showed the woman was clearly sleeping, as she could be heard snoring, while the man attempted to have sex with her.

The videos also showed him sexually assaulting the woman while she was sleeping. The woman was not aware of the videos nor had she known that the man had behaved in this way.

The woman told gardaí that during their relationship she agreed to him making videos of them having sex but only in circumstances where her face was not visible. She never gave the man permission to share these with anyone.

Mr Justice Paul McDermott on Wednesday sentenced the man to six years in prison with the final 12 months suspended on strict conditions, including that he keep away from the victim and engage with any treatment as recommended by the Probation Service.

He said the attempted rape was premeditated and planned by the accused.

“He knew she was sleeping and unlikely to wake up,” the judge said, a reference to the woman taking insomnia medication.

Mr Justice McDermott said the recording of his actions while the woman slept was “a gross violation of her privacy without her consent”.

“He took advantage of the situation and knew he could do it with impunity,” he said. “He weaponised the recordings when he became angry.”

Mr Justice McDermott also took into account a Probation Service report which he said concluded that the man “showed no insight into the attempted rape” but said he “clearly understood the boundaries he was breaching”.

He said the mitigating factors included the fact that he co-operated with the Garda investigation, did not have the matter go to trial and had apologised to the victim. He acknowledged that the man had demonstrated a willingness to engage in any treatment programmes deemed suitable by the Probation Service.