A WOMAN raped by her landlord has told sexual abuse victims they will be believed — after her attacker was convicted.
A 62-year-old, who cannot be named, raped the victim at a property in Cork on May 28, 2022.
He was convicted of rape in a 10-to-two jury verdict.
And at the trial, the victim, who was plied with alcohol, told the landlord it was “devastating and distressing” to have to listen to his lies when he claimed the sex was consensual.
The woman said he had destroyed her old life and left her feeling like a shell.
She told him: “The gruesome memory of what you did to me will never leave me. As a victim, this is a life sentence.
“To any victims of sexual violence, I urge you to take back your power. Speak your truth. You will be believed.
“Each time you speak out you are reducing the social silence that these monsters thrive in.
“I commend anyone who has done this before me and to those suffering in silence I encourage you to find your inner strength and courage because you have it.”
However, the brave woman told how she found the trial traumatising, and added it was “highly humiliating” that her underwear was shown in court.
She said: “I found every aspect of the trial to be traumatising.
“I found the cross-examination to be highly humiliating. I felt my intelligence was insulted. I felt stupid and belittled. My honesty and integrity were challenged and that was hard to bear.
‘WE BOTH KNEW THE TRUTH’
“My underwear shown in court and my SATU (Sexual Assault Trauma Unit) examination report being read out was another out-of-body experience.”
But she told the grandad and father of three: “We both knew the truth.
“Firstly, committing the crime was such a violent and degrading act but then to drag me through the entire trial process advocating your innocence was a further degradation.
“You displayed not a single ounce of remorse or guilt for what you did. It is quite scary to think people like you exist in society. You have taken my life and my freedom.”
‘NUMB AND BROKE’
She said the day after the rape was her darkest, telling the court: “I wanted to die. I was numb and broke. I felt like I had died inside.”
Speaking as a victim who had to endure sitting through the trial, she said: “The experience was devastating and cruel.”
But she said the support she received from gardai and victim support groups – including Cork Sexual Violence Centre – and prosecutors helped her through the ordeal.
The landlord was convicted after the jury of eight men and four women deliberated for nine hours and 32 minutes before reaching their majority verdict on February 11 that the defendant was guilty of rape.
Ms Justice Siobhan Lankford in the Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork heard the rape happened on May 28, 2022, at a property in Cork.
The victim and her fiance had rented a property with partially shared facilities as they were preparing to buy a home of their own.
LANDLORD’S ACTIONS
The vile landlord knew the family of the woman’s partner and was involved in a local sports club.
But on a weekend when her partner was away attending a stag party, the landlord met the woman and passed a comment telling her they might potentially have to move out, saying he had a dispute her boyfriend’s father.
The woman was so concerned she sent a series of texts to her partner.
Later after she got into her pyjamas, she received a message from the landlord asking her to move a car so that bins could be collected the following morning.
‘OVERWHELMED BY DRINK’
She did so and then received a message from the man saying he had just opened a bottle of wine and would she like to share a drink?
Having shared a drink, he then offered her a nightcap. The woman said the man poured a brandy for her. He then kept topping-up her glass uninvited.
Later, she suddenly felt “overwhelmed by drink”. She passed out and, when she woke on a couch, her clothes had been removed and the man was raping her.
She initially thought it was her fiance and then realised, to her horror, it was her landlord.
‘UTTER VIOLATION’
Detective Garda Rachel McGrath said the victim struggled to get him off her but “he only moved when he completed what he was doing”.
The victim was left totally devastated by the attack.
She said: “What you did to me was an utter violation of my mind, my body and my soul.
“You specially created the opportunity to attack me when I was at my most vulnerable.”
‘ULTIMATE DISRESPECT’
The woman added: “Aside from the utter disrespect of raping me, you put my life at risk.
“To me this is a deeper aspect of the crime you committed. You left me exposed to STIs, HIV, pregnancy and cervical cancer.
“I still cannot fully put into words how this part of the crime has shaken me to my core. It is the ultimate disrespect to someone’s life.”
The landlord insisted the sexual contact was consensual after both had been drinking together.
The victim denied that the sex was consensual.
VULNERABLE POSITION
Conor Devally SC, for the State, said the woman was in a vulnerable position because she was the tenant of the landlord.
It was the State’s case the landlord gave the victim so much alcohol that she became intoxicated to the point of incapacity.
She was then left vulnerable to the sexual assault and was never in a position to consent to sex.
Ms Justice Lankford said she wanted to consider matters and adjourned sentencing to April 11.
She remanded the landlord in custody.
- Call the National Helpline on 1800-778-888 for confidential and free support, 24/7. Information is also available at www.drcc.ie.
