Man jailed for ‘appalling’ rape of woman with bottle after night out in Galway

A man who raped a woman with a bottle following a night out has been sentenced to nine years in jail with the final year suspended.

Mr Justice Tony Hunt described the behaviour of Jonathan (AKA) Johnny Moran (26) as “appalling” and “incomprehensible” as he sentenced him on Monday at Central Criminal Court for raping Blathnaid Raleigh, then aged 21, in July 2019.

Ms Raleigh waived her right to anonymity so that Moran could be named in reporting on the case.

The rape occurred after Ms Raleigh went back with Moran, of Tower View, Mullingar, Co Westmeath, and some others to an Airbnb in Galway that Moran and his friends were staying in for the weekend. Moran played rugby in the local club in Mullingar with Ms Raleigh’s brothers. She was attending the Arts Festival in Galway with a friend when they bumped into Moran and others from their hometown.

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Moran had claimed the sexual activity on the night was consensual and denied using any implement in assaulting Ms Raleigh. Her DNA was found on the opening of three plastic cordial bottles following a forensic examination of the shed where the incident took place.

The court heard that Ms Raleigh was left with extensive physical injuries that required months of treatment in the sexual assault unit.

Ms Raleigh read her victim impact statement into the record at a court sitting last month. She said she had not felt comfortable using the word rape until she had “validation from the court” but the conviction at trial allowed her to use that now. She told Moran she was “handing the shame back to you”.

The judge on Monday praised the articulate nature of Ms Raleigh’s victim impact statement and her description of the significant and long-term impact such crimes have on victims. He wished her well and said he “fully recognised” the life-changing effect of such experiences. He said significant sentences are needed in response to such crimes for this reason.

Mr Justice Hunt said there was little that could be said in terms of mitigation for Moran, who said he accepted the jury’s sentence after the trial but a probation report noted was struggling to move beyond the stance he had adopted at the trial.

Referring to the withdrawal of a submitted reference about Moran’s work record, Mr Justice Hunt said that in serious sexual assault cases future employment prospects are of “limited concern” to a sentencing court.

He said people “should not get too carried away” with the notion that sentencing courts give much weight to employment references in such cases. Past behaviour “goes up in smoke” when a person has been found guilty of an offence such as the one before the court, he added.

Addressing the fact that Ms Raleigh and Moran had gone together to a shed, presumably to have more privacy than was available in the house, and that Ms Raleigh had trusted Moran up to that point, Mr Justice Hunt said the case highlighted the importance of the concept of consent.

He said it “must be made clear” – and he believed the courts had made it quite clear – that in cases where non-consensual sexual activity leads to a conviction for a serious sexual offence, the scope for not getting an immediate custodial sentence is “non-existent”.

Mr Justice Hunt said people engaging in consensual sexual activity should bear in mind the importance of consent and that “if you put a foot on the wrong side of the law” the consequences are very serious.

He said he did not know “to this day” what Moran had on his mind and that “to treat another human being in this way is entirely beyond the Pale”.

The judge suspended the final year of the nine-year sentence after Moran entered into a bond and agreed that, among other conditions, he would not have any future contact with Ms Raleigh, directly or indirectly.

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