A Galway resident has received a six-year jail sentence for raping a woman he had invited to his home for dinner.
Shafiq Quadri (49) was convicted at the Central Criminal Court last October of raping the woman on January 20th, 2016.
Quadri, formerly of Barr Aille, Tuam Road, Galway had denied the charge.
Mr Justice White said the victim had extended the hand of friendship to Quadri and he had breached the trust she placed in him. She had accepted the invitation to his home and after spending an evening together eating and drinking.
Her trust was cruelly broken by Quadri and he took advantage of her after she had consumed too much alcohol, the judge said.
After sentence was delivered Quadri stood and asked to address the court. The Pakistani national, who came here in 2001, told the court “I am here because of my own sins” but claimed he was advised before the trial that he would be convicted if he did not shave off his beard.
The judge said it was a tragic situation, noting the attack was out of character for Quadri, who has no previous convictions.
Mr Justice White also noted that in her victim impact statement the woman told the court that the attack has changed her world completely and that the trial caused her great distress.
Sergeant Michael Guerin told Shane Costelloe SC, prosecuting, that the woman had some interactions with Quadri before she accepted an invitation to his flat. She ate a meal and had about four drinks of alcohol.
At one point she had to use the bathroom and Quadri suggested she use go to one off his bedroom. The woman recalled coming out of the bathroom but had little memory of what happened next.
Shouted to stop
She told gardaí she had been on the bed naked with Quadri on top of her and his penis in her vagina. When she shouted at him to stop, Quadri put his hand over her mouth and told her: “Ssshh”.
The woman left his flat and the next day reported the incident. Sgt Guerin told Mr Costelloe that doctors examining the woman found evidence of physical trauma to her vagina.
The father-of-two maintained during interview after his arrest that the sex had been consensual and that he had not placed his hand over the woman’s mouth.
Reading from her victim impact statement in court, the woman described how a piece of chocolate she received during her physical exam was the “only pleasure I experienced at that time.”
She said a sense of shame and humiliation accompanied her during her interview with gardaí and that she went “numb out of fear” during the sexual assault examination.
She described how customers at work had asked her to smile because she looked like somebody had died. “And it was true, there was somebody who had died, it was me,” she said.
The woman said eventually she saw a psychiatrist who diagnosed her with post-traumatic stress disorder and prescribed her medication and treatment. She revealed that in the years since the rape, “there are moments when I am well, but also times when I shatter into small pieces”.
Bernard Madden SC, defending, outlined Quadri's good work record here and in Saudi Arabia and said he has a supportive ex-partner. He asked the judge to take into consideration Quadri's history with depression and that the offending was out-of-character.
Mr Madden handed in testimonials, which described Quadri as trustworthy, helpful, friendly, reliable and a good family man.
The sentence will run from October last, when Quadri went into custody after the jury verdict.