A woman who became pregnant after she was raped by a man introduced to her as “a good guy” who could help her, has said her daughter will never be his.
The woman, who gave evidence at a Central Criminal Court trial via video link from a courthouse in her native Slovakia last July, was first introduced to the man while she and her partner were struggling financially after moving to Ireland.
The couple were living in Galway when the woman took up an offer of accommodation at the man’s home, along with her two daughters, on the understanding that she would work as a cleaner for him.
The woman and her partner were going through a difficult time in their relationship then as he was drinking heavily.
The 68-year-old accused, a Polish national who cannot be named to protect the identity of the woman, was convicted on two counts of rape and four counts of oral rape on dates between January 1st, 2012 and September 18th, 2016.
He has convictions for rape from Poland and has served a three-year prison sentence in Ireland for making a threat to kill.
Ms Justice Tara Burns remanded the man in continuing custody until October 25th next when his defence team will the address the court.
The woman did not return to Ireland during the trial or for the sentence hearing but her victim impact report was read into the record.
It stated that she found it impossible to discuss what was her life was before the rapes and “what it is now”. She said life with her partner before she met the accused had not been easy, but she was happy.
“He only told me how to kneel, obey and be quiet,” she said, referring to the accused. She said he destroyed her life and that of her partner and their family.
Afraid
She said she hoped he would be imprisoned for many years so he could not hurt another woman before she added that she does not sleep or have an intimate relationship with her partner as she is still afraid.
The woman said her youngest daughter, who was conceived during the rape, would never be the accused man’s child. The girl was “just mine”, she said.
Garda Patrick Foley told Patrick McGrath SC, prosecuting, that shortly after the woman moved into the man’s home, he began to demand sex from her.
She managed to fend off a number of advances before he raped her following a New Year Eve’s party they attended together.
The woman left the man’s house the following day and returned to live with her partner but never disclosed the rape to him until the following Easter.
Garda Foley said the woman was raped a second time in an abandoned farmhouse close to the man’s home, while she was still working as his cleaner.
He was then jailed for three years in December 2013 following the conviction for the threat to kill. He returned to Poland when he was released from prison but came back to Galway in 2016.
The man then made contact with the couple again before moving into their home. It was during his time living with the couple that the man forced the woman to perform oral sex on him on four occasions.
Confronted
At one point her partner confronted him over the previous rapes but he was assaulted by the accused. Garda Foley confirmed that the woman and her partner feared the accused.
In September 2016, while the woman’s partner was being treated in hospital, he told a nurse what was happening with the accused and she alerted gardaí.
The man was ultimately arrested after he was tasered by officers who believed there was “threat to life” because of an indication that he had a weapon with him in the house.
Garda Foley confirmed that the man was interviewed four times but denied raping the woman. He claimed he had been in a consensual sexual relationship with the woman, that he had a baby with her and that he was involved in his daughter’s life. He said the woman was using him for financial aid.