A man who had sexual intercourse with a 59-year-old mentally impaired woman was jailed for six years yesterday in the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Paul Ward (26), of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to having had sexual intercourse with the psychiatric patient at St Vincent's Hospital, Richmond Road, Fairview, on June 5th, 1997.
Det Garda Thomas Whiteacre, of Clontarf Garda station, said a student nurse found Ward having sex with the woman. Det Garda Whiteacre said Ward claimed he had been invited by the woman to "make love".
Ward was not a patient but had come to make an appointment for himself. He had 27 convictions for petty theft and larceny.
Mr Paul McDermott SC, defending, said Ward suffered from mild mental retardation and had been in and out of mental institutions since he was 16.
Dr Kevin Kilbride of the Central Mental Hospital, Dundrum, said Ward was in need of supervision and ongoing psychiatric care in the community. His condition was not severe enough to avail of the mentally handicapped services. Dr Kilbride agreed with Mr McDermott there were "nil services" to deal with his type of case.
Judge Elizabeth Dunne services which might help Ward did not exist. She added, however, that his illness did not preclude her from passing a custodial sentence and jailed him for six years, with a review in three years.