A convicted rapist who told a woman he was going to take her up to the mountains and “chop her up” has been jailed for eight years.
Robert Melia (48) has three previous convictions for violent sexual assaults on three separate victims in one month in October 1997. He received a six year sentence in July 1991, for a rape committed in 1987.
Melia of Shangan Gardens, Ballymun pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to charges of false imprisonment, assault causing harm and making threats to kill at the Caulfields Hotel, Dorset Street Lower, Dublin on May 19th, 2013.
Dete Gda Martin McInerney told the court that the victim was forced to jump out of the first floor window of the hotel room because she believed he was going to kill her.
At one point, Melia took two shoelaces from his pocket and said he was going to use this and a neck tie he was wearing to tie the woman up.
Judge Martin Nolan suspended the last three years of a 10-year sentence on condition Melia be of good behaviour for three years after his release. He also jailed the father of four for one year for an offence of possessing stolen social welfare cheques at Cappagh Post Office, Finglas on dates in January and February 2013, resulting in an effective eight year sentence.
Judge Nolan said Melia’s offences followed a pattern of previous behaviour in which he demonstrated extreme hostility and violence towards women.
Det Gda McInerney told Ronan Kennedy BL, prosecuting, that the victim was a vulnerable drug addict who had met Melia a few days earlier on a city centre street. Melia bought cocaine and heroin and invited her back to his hotel room. She refused but the pair went to a nearby flat occupied by her friend and over the next days the three socialised and she and Melia took drugs.
On the day of the attack, Melia rang the woman and invited her to come to his hotel room to take drugs. She felt sick and agreed to go to the hotel room and they smoked heroin together. He then became angry and she tried to walk out. Melia grabbed her from behind and threw her on the bed.
During a struggle they ended up on the floor and Melia began trying to strangle her by putting his arm around her neck. She later told gardaí that she could not breathe because of the pressure on her neck and was begging him to stop. Melia told her to take her clothes off and she tried to run for the door again but found it locked. Melia started strangling her again and told her: “I’m going to bring you up the mountains and I’m going to chop you up.”
The court heard that at this point she had given up screaming because she did not think anyone could hear her as there was loud music playing downstairs. Melia told her again she was going to die, saying: “Get it into your head, you’re leaving, you’re going to die.”
She went to the window to see if she could open it and he began punching her in the face with his closed fist.
During another struggle, she pushed her fingers into his eyes and managed to overpower him. She was kicking at the window and managed to get out the window feet first, landing on her feet. She ran around to the hotel reception in a distraught state and staff called gardaí.
Gardaí went to Melia’s room but he had managed to exit the hotel by the back way, possibly by jumping out of a window. He later went to the emergency department of a city hospital with leg injuries. Gardaí were notified and arrested him at the hospital.
The woman fractured her ankle when jumping out of the hotel window to escape. She also suffered bruising to her neck face arms and legs. In her victim impact report the mother of one said that as a result of the assault her head is very “messed up” and she suffers panic attacks and nightmares. She said she lost her accommodation placement because she was afraid Melia knew where she lived. She said she did not think she would ever be the same again.
She was not in court because she is engaging with a drug treatment programme but her family did attend the hearing.
Patrick McGrath SC, defending, said his client had suffered violence during his teenage years at the Artane Industrial school in Dublin and had difficulties with alcohol and substance abuse all his life.