A Waterford man who raped his next-door neighbour as she was recovering from surgery has been jailed for six years. The man (63) cannot be identified to protect the woman's identity. He gained entry to her home by pretending to have lost his keys. He pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to raping the woman at her home in April 1991. There are previous convictions for the man for sexual abuse of his stepdaughter.

Incident

Mr Justice Paul McDermott said, the injured party had just been discharged from the hospital after having surgery. The woman screamed for help in the hope that the man's wife would hear her next door. Mr Justice McDermott said this defendant dragged the injured party, pushed her onto a bed, and raped her. He said: “This man came to her house with the intention to rape her.” The judge said a probation report before the court places this man at high risk of reoffending. He outlined that the defendant has not offered insight or motives into this offending, which is of considerable concern to the Probation services. Mr Justice McDermott set a headline sentence of nine years and placed the offending in the higher range. He said the aggravating factors in this case were that this was a planned rape, the defendant took advantage of his neighbour. She was alone in her home where she should have felt safe, violence was used, and she was recuperating after surgery.

Judge's Sentence

The judge said he would take the following as mitigating factors in the case: A guilty plea, the man's work history, his physical and mental health issues and that he is willing to engage with the Probation Services. He sentenced him to seven years in prison and suspended the final 12 months. The Judge placed him under the supervision of the Probation Services and instructed him to carry out all directions deemed necessary by them. Finally, he ordered that the defendant have no contact either directly or indirectly with the injured party in this case. He backdated this sentence to when the defendant went into custody in December 2024.

Deposition

An investigating garda told Garrett Baker SC that the woman, who lived alone, had just returned to her home following surgery when she heard a knock on the door. The man, her next-door neighbour, told her that he had forgotten his key. He asked to go through her house so he could jump the back wall into his own property. As soon as the man was inside the house, he pushed her onto the sofa, got on top of her and started pulling at her clothes. The woman was screaming for the man’s wife, hoping she would hear. She showed the man her wounds from the surgery, but was dragged and pushed upstairs to the bedroom, where he raped her. The complainant was weak and in pain from the surgery, but did attempt to push him off. She  asked him what if she were pregnant. He told her to stand up and “let it pour out.” She felt ashamed, degraded and humiliated. The man left her home. She said she never forgot that the man went back into his own home using his key that he had all along.

Initial Complaint

The woman made a complaint in July 2023, and a garda investigation began. While he acknowledged they lived beside each other, he denied the offence. The injured party, who chose not to come to court, prepared a victim impact statement which was read to the court by the investigating garda. She described the adverse effects of the rape on her physical, emotional and mental health. It was reported she suffers sleepless nights when sexual abuse is in the media. The man served a four-and-a-half-year sentence, with the final 16 months suspended, for sexual assaults of his step-daughter. Mr Cody handed in reports to the court. He outlined that the accused had a difficult childhood and said his client had referred to being a victim of sexual abuse himself. The man is divorced from his wife. He said the man left school early to bring money into his home and has had a consistent work history since. Additionally, he has a number of medical issues, as well as mental health difficulties. Counsel said the man wishes to apologise for his offence. He asked the court to consider suspending a portion of the sentence to incentivise rehabilitation, which would benefit him when he re-entered society and equip him to deal with any challenges. If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help.    Fiona Ferguson and Claire Henry For the latest Waterford News and Sport, tune into WLR News on the hour and download the WLR App for news on demand.