Men jailed for attempted rape lose appeal against convictions

Two men jailed for the attempted rape of a 31-year-old woman in a van, which had a mattress in the back, after she was separated from friends on a night out, have lost appeals against their convictions.

The two men, who are aged 22 and 24 and cannot be identified for legal reasons, along with a third man (22) who was ultimately found not guilty on all counts, had denied the rape, attempted rape, oral rape and sexual assault of a woman at an unknown location in Cork on September 13th, 2009.

Following a nine-day trial, a Central Criminal Court jury unanimously found the 22-year-old guilty of attempted rape, sexual assault and oral rape, and the 24-year-old unanimously guilty of attempted rape and sexual assault on November 7, 2012.

Mr Justice Paul Carney jailed both men for 10 years each on January 31, 2013.

Dismissing the appeals against conviction yesterday, Mr Justice Alan Mahon said their trial was conducted in "exemplary fashion" and their convictions should stand.

The convicted men were aged 16 and 18 at the time.