A north Dublin businessman who raped a foreign tourist in a Killarney hotel has been jailed for 10 years by Mr Justice Paul Carney at the Central Criminal Court.
Philip McGrane (39), Moonlone Lane, Hynestown, The Naul, was convicted by a jury on day 11 of his trial earlier this year of oral and anal rape, rape and sexual assault of the victim on June 6th, 2005.
Mr Justice Carney said the range of sentence available to the court went from suspended sentence to life imprisonment and he had been upheld in both these terms by the Court of Criminal Appeal.
He told McGrane that having regard to the violence he used in his savage attack on the victim, his deliberate humiliation of her and his raping of her "in every way possible", he merited a 15-year sentence in the range available to the court. But taking into consideration that he had no previous convictions and the character evidence on his behalf, he set the rape sentences at 10 years with four years concurrent for the sexual assault.
Mr Justice Carney directed that McGrane undergo five years post-release supervision and noted that in his decision he had "the benefit" of a detailed review and analysis of rape-case sentences recently pronounced in a judgment by Mr Justice Peter Charleton. "But for that, the sentence in this case would be higher," he said.
McGrane denied the charges.
Det Garda Patrick Sears told Paul Burns (with Tom Rice), prosecuting, that the victim reported her life had changed completely as a result of the rape.
Her long-term relationship with her partner came to an abrupt end six weeks later, she had lost weight, had lost her confidence and at first was too ashamed to tell anyone about the rape except for two close friends.
Det Garda Sears said she also expressed the hope that things would be better after sentencing.
Mr Justice Carney said that in sentencing he was not taking into consideration what he had earlier described as "the most caddish evidence" given on McGrane's behalf at his trial by his wife of their purported sexual activity.
He had refused to give bail to McGrane following his conviction after referring to the intimate evidence given by his wife saying: "A person who calls his wife to give such evidence on behalf of him is, to my mind, capable of anything and I'm not going to give bail under any circumstances."
Mr Justice Carney said he followed the practice mandated in the "M" case by which he was required to identify the range of penalty available to him, then to put the particular case into its proper place in that range; and, thereafter, to discount such factors as were available to the defendant in his favour.
He noted that McGrane had no previous convictions, was married with a young family, had lost his business as a result of this conviction and had been "spoken up for" by his employees and character witnesses.
Mr Justice Carney said he also took into consideration the effect the rape had on the victim who was on holiday with her partner.