A 25-year-old man who subjected a 17-year-old student to a 20-minute rape ordeal near her home in west Cork has been jailed for six years.
Kyle Hayes-Condon, of Páirc an Tobair, Clonakilty, Co Cork, appeared before the Central Criminal Court in Cork on Monday for sentencing. He had pleaded guilty to counts of rape, sexual assault, assault causing harm and false imprisonment of the teenager.
Ms Justice Siobhán Lankford previously heard evidence in the case from Det Garda Lisa O’Sullivan.
She said the incident occurred in the early hours of February 16th, 2025, after the young woman got a lift home from a party. The injured party walked the last section of the journey home.
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She was nearly at her house when Hayes-Condon started following her and speaking to her. The girl was recording a Snapchat message at the time and she allowed the recording to continue so she could capture his voice.
Ms Justice Lankford noted that Hayes Condon had “an enormous amount of cocaine” on the night of the attack, having made his way through about seven bags of the drug.
Hayes-Condon offered the teenager, who was not known to him, some cocaine. He then grabbed her from behind and dragged her on to a grassy area. She begged him to release her but he told her to “shut up” and tore off her underwear before raping her.
Ms Justice Lankford said the victim was “terrified and believed she was about to be killed”.
Twenty minutes later, Hayes-Condon told her she could leave the area. When she arrived home at about 3am, she told her parents what had happened.
She was subsequently examined at a Sexual Assault Treatment Unit and a formal report was made to gardaí about the incident.
In a victim-impact statement, the teenager said she found it difficult to get out of bed for weeks after the attack.
“I was in bed most of the day,” she said. “I was sleeping a lot more than usual. I was barely speaking to friends and family.
“[Now] I can’t even leave the house by myself without feeling like something like this might happen again. I feel unsafe walking alone.”
She said her house was within sight when she was dragged into the grassy area.
“It made me feel so defeated. If it can happen so close to home, it can happen anywhere.”
As a teenager, you should be able to “live your life to the fullest”, she said.
“I was and I still try, but there’s some things I cannot do. I used to be able to talk to anyone who I come across. Now I feel on edge anytime a man comes close to me that I don’t know.”
She urged others in her position to “speak up” as they are “not alone”, before expressing thanks for the support she has received since the incident.
Defence barrister Elizabeth O’Connell SC said her client was very ashamed of his actions on the night. She indicated he told gardaí that if there was any difference between what the teenager said and what he said, then her account of the night should be accepted as the truth.
Ms Justice Lankford praised the teenager for her “quick wittedness” in deciding to record the voice of the man. She said it was also “astute” of her to film him as he walked ahead of her on the road prior to the incident.
Hayes-Condon made full admissions to gardaí and signed a guilty plea at the earliest opportunity.
He has been in custody sinceFebruary 19th.
Hayes-Condon wrote a letter of apology to the victim. Ms Justice Lankford stated that his remorse appeared to be genuine. She noted his good work history and the fact that he had a drug debt at the time of the offence.
In sentencing Hayes-Condon, she described the offence as “serious” but accepted as mitigating factors the guilty plea and immediate acceptance of wrongdoing.
She said the teenager had been at the receiving end of a violent incident in which she was treated with degradation.
Ms Justice Lankford jailed Hayes-Condon for seven years, suspending the last year of the sentence.
- Rape Crisis Centre can be contacted at freephone 1800 77 8888
