A Roscommon man who raped and sexually assaulted a woman over twenty years ago has been jailed for 11 years.
John Gerard Regan (59) of Cloonfad, Ballyhaunis, was found guilty last February by a jury at the Central Criminal Court of raping the now 37-year-old woman on a date in 1982 and on three charges of indecently assaulting her on dates between 1979 and 1984. The victim was seven years old at the time of the first attack.
The victim said she wanted Regan named in media reports of the case.
The jury returned its 11-1 majority verdicts on day-five of the trial, having deliberated for over four hours and after spending one night in a hotel.
Regan had pleaded not guilty at the start of his trial to one charge of raping the woman and 29 charges of indecent assault. Regan said in evidence in his own defence that the allegations were untrue and claimed the offences never happened. "I never went near her," he said.
Mr Justice O'Higgins withdrew 26 of the charges from the jury at the trial.
Jailing him for 11 years, Mr Justice Kevin O'Higgins told Regan that his victim was "a person of considerable courage who, with the help of her husband, is trying to get on with her life which is not easy given the scars of your actions".
Mr Justice O’Higgins also directed that Regan’s name be placed on the register of sex offenders.