A 15-year-old boy who raped a 15-year-old girl in Cork city centre was sentenced to two years today.
The intoxicated girl became separated from her friends at around 7pm on February 12, 2023.
Ms Justice Siobhán Lankford explained at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork that the sentence was calculated on the basis of seven years being the appropriate sentence for an adult committing these offences, this sentence being reduced by 50% because the accused was in legal terms a child at the time, and the last 18 months being suspended because of other factors.
The judge commended the injured party for the clear and straightforward manner in which she gave her evidence and the views expressed in her victim impact statement, including her wish for other girls in such cases to come forward.
The boy denied oral and vaginal rape, denied the victim’s version of events, and did not accept the jury’s finding that he was guilty. However, the probation officer dealing with him in Oberstown detention centre in the past month found that the now 17-year-old was still capable of empathy.
Ms Justice Siobhán Lankford said it was not unusual for a young person in the defendant’s position to find it very difficult to accept what they had done but that this did not prevent the feeling of empathy for a victim.
The judge said that there is a blanket prohibition on identification of any parties to this case.
The judge acknowledged that the young defendant had a background of learning difficulties and particular deprivation despite having a supportive family. However, the judge said: “A detention/prison sentence is unfortunately necessary because of the nature of the offending.”
Ms Justice Lankford said the fact that there was an element of pre-planning and the appearance on CCTV of him appearing to know what he was doing as he brought her to a quiet location and ‘manoeuvred’ her behind a bush.
Victim impact statement
Detective Garda Niall Comerford read the victim impact statement by the 17-year-old girl who was aged 15 when she was raped in an alleyway close to Cork city centre.
The teenager stated: “I want to encourage other girls to come forward and tell their story and to not be scared. No one should control, no man should control another person. No one should get away with rape.
“Before it happened, I was very innocent and quiet and you took away my innocence. You put me in fear of my life and I am still sometimes even scared to go outside.
“I am getting panic attacks, I dream about it and wake up during the night and can't sleep. I bite the tops of my fingers out of nerves and stress.
“I was scared to even look at a boy for ages after it happened in case they would do the same thing to me.
“I completely want to change myself now. I don't want to be that person anymore, because I don't want to be the person that you touched, so I have tried to become a different person. I have changed how I look … now I only wear tracksuits.
“I dropped out of school after it happened because I couldn't even get out of bed to shower or brush my hair and I would stay in the same pyjamas for ages.
“I have watched this impact my family, my mom and dad got very depressed and my siblings were really worried about me because I was very suicidal after it happened. I was suicidal because you took my dignity and I felt like I was worthless. I felt like I had no life after it and I didn't want to do anything.
'I want you to know that no means no'
“I lost all my friends because I didn't text or talk to any of them after it because I just wanted to be by myself.
“I want you to know that no means no. And I want to encourage other girls to speak up and tell your parents or the guards because if you don't you could get depressed and no one should get away with rape.
“I want to thank my parents for supporting me through it and I want to thank all the guards who were involved in it, especially Niall Comerford.”
Detective Garda Niall Comerford said that on leaving a fast-food restaurant in the city the intoxicated girl became separated from her group of friends, at which stage she was approached by the accused who “prompted her to follow him to an isolated area”, where she was subjected to both oral and vaginal rape.
Defence senior counsel Jane Hyland said the accused had a supportive family but had difficulties in school and has problems with comprehension and literacy. Ms Hyland said that multiple suicides in his extended family had deeply affected him.
- If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please click here for a list of support services.
