A convicted rapist who held a knife to a woman’s throat and sexually assaulted her while she was unconscious has been jailed for six years.
Marius Purcil (39) of Woodbrook Hall, Carpenterstown, Dublin, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to sexual assault and assault causing harm at a holistic treatment centre in Dublin city centre on January 21st, 2017.
Judge Martin Nolan sentenced him to five years' imprisonment for the count of sexual assault and three years' imprisonment for the count of assault causing harm, both of which will run consecutively. He suspended the final two years of the sentence on strict conditions.
Det Garda Robert Wilson told Dominic McGinn SC, prosecuting, that on the date in question, Purcil entered the premises and requested a massage from a woman working as a receptionist who explained there was nobody present to give one.
Purcil offered the woman money to have sex with him and she refused. He became aggressive, asked “Why not?” and began to hit her in the face and upper body.
He grabbed her by the face, headbutted her and took out a knife which he held to her throat. He then instructed her to take off her clothes.
Lost consciousness
The woman resisted and she managed to grab the knife. Purcil grabbed her by the throat and she lost consciousness, only waking after Purcil had left the treatment centre following the intervention of a man who worked downstairs.
She realised that while unconscious her leggings and underwear had been cut with a knife in the area of her crotch and she had sustained a laceration to her genitals. During the assault the woman also sustained injuries to her face, head and neck.
In a victim impact statement, which was read out in court, the woman said Purcil told her he would kill her if she screamed more. The woman said she thought she was going to die without being able to say goodbye to her parents.
The woman said her life was now “full of fear” and that she was scared of seeing the man again in court. She said she does not want to hate the man as she believes that no good can come from hatred.
Previous convictions
Purcil has eight previous convictions in Ireland and in other jurisdictions. These include a conviction for a racially aggravated common assault in England and the rape of a male in his native Romania.
Seamus Clarke SC, defending, said his client was raped and bullied while in juvenile detention in Romania when he was aged 17. He said that Purcil wanted to express his “sincere apology” to the victim in this case.
Judge Nolan said that what Purcil did was “unforgivable” and described the attack as being “reprehensible in the highest degree”. He said he was very impressed with the fortitude of the injured party in this case.