A man jailed for 12 years for raping a woman in a Dublin hotel has claimed the sentencing judge should have considered his psychiatric issues and the fact he had no previous conviction.
Keith Hearne (30) tackled Dominique Meehan to the ground after cornering her in a meeting room at the ArcadeCon gaming convention in July 2015, before telling her, “I could break your neck here and now, would you prefer that?”
He then bound her hands behind her back with his tie, stripped her and raped her.
When she screamed, he told her he had a knife in his bag and would use it if she was not quiet.
Hearne of Allenton Drive, Tallaght, Dublin pleaded guilty to two counts of rape, one count of oral rape and one count of falsely imprisoning Ms Meehan at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Blanchardstown on July 4th, 2015. He was taken into custody in April 2017 ahead of sentencing.
When Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy handed down the 12-year sentence, at the Central Criminal Court in June 2017, he said it was difficult to express the horror and seriousness of the offence.
Handcuffs
Mr McCarthy had heard that, after he was arrested, Hearne’s bag was found to contain a prop knife, handcuffs, condoms and a mask while “sadomasochistic” items were later found at the scene.
At the Court of Appeal on Friday, Roderick O’Hanlon SC, for Hearne, told Mr Justice George Birmingham, presiding, and sitting with Ms Justice Maire Whelan and Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy, that, at the time of sentencing, Mr Justice McCarthy had said there was only one mitigating circumstance considered.
This was the fact Hearne pleaded guilty to the offence.
Mr O’Hanlon said in his submission the psychiatric history of Hearne, whom the court heard was off his medication at the time of the offence, should have been taken into account by the sentencing judge.
Hearne, the Central Criminal Court previously heard, suffers from a range of conditions, including Asperger’s Syndrome, ADHD, dyslexia and bi-polar disorder.
He said he accepted the judge was correct in holding that Hearne was “criminally responsible” for the offence, but he said the fact Hearne was suffering from a mental illness at the time meant that Hearne “ought to have been considered differently” than another person in that position.
Mr O’Hanlon said: “He [Justice McCarthy] still had to consider him as someone with a mental illness and a personality disorder.”
Mitigation
The barrister said the judge should also have considered the fact Hearne had no previous conviction and the “degree of mitigation which he [Hearne] was entitled to” was “not appropriately applied” by Mr Justice McCarthy.
Mr O’Hanlon also said that, notwithstanding his mental health issues, Hearne, who is in the Midlands Prison, had the support of his mother and stepfather.
He said it was “clear” Hearne did not understand the significance of his condition and, until he was 18, while under the supervision of his mother, she insisted he took his medication.
Mr O’Hanlon said the sentencing judge heard a probation report found that Hearne was at a “high” risk of reoffending, while a separate medical report found he was at a “moderate to high” risk of reoffending and that this risk could be “improved” if he complied with multi-agency medical support.
Anne-Marie Lawlor SC, for the DPP, told the court the 12-year sentence was “proper and proportionate” as it reflected the “heinous circumstances of the rape”.
She said the court has not been addressed of particular facts of the case and while she couldn’t claim it was the worst case to go before the courts she said it was at “an extremely serious level”.
Ms Lawlor said Hearne not only falsely imprisoned Ms Meehan but lay in wait for her in a “predatory” fashion and locked her in a hotel room.
She said the entire “premeditated” incident was significantly violent and Ms Meehan suffered extreme pain and various injuries.
Ms Lawlor also told the court that, during the ordeal, Hearne licked the victim’s cheek and told her “any girl would love this”.
Caught red-handed
She said Hearne could have easily received a sentence in excess of 15 years.
Ms Lawlor also submitted that Mr Justice McCarthy was told there was “no causative link” between Hearne’s mental health issues, or the fact he had not taken his medication, and the commission of the offence.
In respect of the fact Hearne has no previous convictions, Ms Lawlor said the courts will be faced with serious offences in which a previous good record would not be regarded.
She said it was difficult to consider a situation where a person might have been “caught more red-handed”.
Mr Justice Birmingham told the court the judges were reserving judgement until Monday, May 13th.
At the time of Hearne’s sentencing, Ms Meehan (27) said she wished to waive her right to anonymity in order to help more people come forward about sexual abuse.
Speaking outside court she said she was “ecstatic” at the sentence, even though she felt it was too light.
“This is what the gaming community needed to prove that this man was as evil as he is,” she said, adding she would not be able to attend a gaming conference for a very long time.