A man has been jailed for raping an acquaintance after picking her up from a hospital where she had been taken following a fall.
Padraic Troy (29) was convicted late last year following a trial at the Central Criminal Court on two counts of rape, one count of anal rape and two counts of sexual assaults of the woman in 2021.
Troy, of Golden Gardens, Dundrum, Co Tipperary, has 20 previous convictions including theft, assault, public order and road traffic offences.
Sentencing Troy on Thursday, Ms Justice Melanie Greally said the multiplicity of “distinct violations”, the degree of physical force used, the “elements of degradation and depravity” involved in the offending and the effect on the victim were aggravating factors.
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She said the victim was vulnerable at the time and had trusted Troy to help her.
The judge imposed a 10-year prison sentence, backdated to when Troy went into custody. She also imposed a one-year post-release supervision order on Troy.
An investigating garda told the court the woman was out socialising on the night. She fell and was brought to hospital by ambulance.
While at the hospital, she rang several people, including Troy, for assistance. Troy came to the hospital after 3am.
She got into a car with him and another man. The first sexual assault by Troy occurred in the car when he began kissing her. The woman felt disgusted and was trying to impress upon him that she wanted to go home.
The garda said they ultimately arrived at the woman’s home and she was assisted inside. The second man left, leaving her alone with Troy.
Troy raped, anally raped and sexually assaulted her in her bedroom.
The following day she sought assistance and reported the events to gardaí. She was examined at a sexual assault treatment unit. A DNA profile matching Troy was found on her clothing.
Troy told gardaí he had heard rumours going around that he had assaulted her. He said they had consensual sex.
The court heard the victim wished for Troy to be named, but she wanted to remain anonymous.
In a victim impact statement, the woman told the court her life changed forever after that night.
She said she was unable to hold down a job, felt anxious and suffered trust issues.
“I don’t know what I did to deserve this,” she said. “He destroyed my life.”
She said she would not forgive Troy and said she believed he thought he would get away with what he had done. “He knew what he was doing when he raped me,” she said.
The woman said she had endured “four years of hell”, with the weeks leading up to the trial being some of the hardest.
Mark Nicholas SC, defending, said his client had a young family and a work history. He said Troy had been spending his time in custody well and had had no disciplinary issues there.
A probation report was ordered, but the court heard Troy declined to co-operate with the probation services.
