Donegal man who defiled teenager jailed for 18 months at Central Criminal Court

A man who defiled a teenager – having sex with her in his car after bringing her for a “spin” - has been jailed for a year and a half.

The 25-year-old Donegal man, who can't be named to protect the anonymity of the victim, was originally charged with rape but a plea of guilty to defilement was accepted by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), the Central Criminal Court heard.

The plea was accepted on the basis that the defendant may have been unaware or reckless as to consent, prosecution counsel told the court. The girl was 16 years old at the time of the offence while the man was 21 years of age. It has a maximum sentence of seven years, the court heard.

The man was the girl's older brothers' friend and was a frequent visitor to the family home in the run-up to the offence, which occurred in 2021.

The court heard the man started contacting the girl on Snapchat in early 2021 and the messages got increasingly “flirtatious” before he arranged to meet her one day at a bus stop when she was due to meet a friend, the court heard.

He asked her to go for a “spin” in his car before driving her to a secluded area where he started to kiss her, the court heard. The girl initially responded to the kiss, but the man then pushed her head down so she could perform oral sex before he turned her around, held her by the neck and raped her.

The court heard the girl “froze” and said nothing during the attack. He drove her back to meet her friend, and during the drive, he was quiet and not as friendly as he had been beforehand, the court heard.

The girl did not tell her friend and did not tell anyone in the immediate aftermath. Patricia McLaughlin SC said the girl did not understand whether what had happened was consensual due to the fact that she said nothing during the incident.

However, she later told the man's girlfriend, who refused to make a statement but who told the girl's brother what had been alleged. The girl's parents were then informed and she told them what had occurred before they went to gardaí.

The man was arrested in July 2022 and denied having any sexual contact with the girl. He has no previous convictions.

He was originally charged with rape and oral rape, but pleaded guilty last November to a fresh charge of defilement of the girl at a location in Donegal on May 27, 2021.

In her victim impact statement, which was read out in court on her behalf, the now 21-year-old woman said that before the incident, she was a “happy teenager excited about the future”. She said that as a 16-year-old, the most serious thing she should have been worrying about was preparing for sixth year and making the most of her last year with her school friends.

Instead, she said she spent the final years of her teens “in a state of internal turmoil and isolation”, which she still feels angry about.

She said for a long time she blamed herself and did not tell anyone what happened. She said the man “infiltrated all aspects of (her) life” including her family home and that as a result, her home did not feel safe for a period of time. “I felt trapped,” she said.

She said she has nearly completed a college course and is still trying to rebuild her life.

Sentencing the man, Mr Justice Paul McDermott said there was a “clear imbalance” in age between the man and the teenage girl, noting that this was not a case where the parties were of approximately the same age.

He added that the man was trusted by the girl and was a frequent visitor to her home. The judge said he had taken into account the man's guilty plea, although he noted that the man had initially denied any sexual contact with the girl.

He imposed a sentence of two years and six months and suspended the final 12 months on strict conditions in light of the “significant mitigation”.

Mr Justice McDermott directed the man to place himself under the supervision of the Probation Services post-release and to have no contact directly or indirectly with the injured party.

The man took the stand during the sentence hearing and told the court he was “truly sorry” for his actions. “I'm ashamed of myself for what I've done and how I misread everything,” he said.

Michael O'Higgins SC, defending, said his client is self-employed and works hard. He is still with his partner and they are hoping to start a family, but that has been on hold until after the court case.

He noted the case has hung over the man for a long period of time and in the intervening period he has not come to any adverse attention with gardai. His standing locally has fallen and he is suffering with depression, the court heard.

Mr O'Higgins said his client's action on the day was an “aberration” and “out of character” and that he might be suitable for community service.