Portlaoise man jailed for four years for rape of woman in secluded lane

By David O'Sullivan

A Portlaoise man has been jailed for four years for the rape of a woman in a secluded lane.

Ivan Kelly (23), of Buttercup Avenue, Esker Hills was convicted by a Central Criminal Court jury following a trial last October. He had pleaded not guilty to the rape in a County Laois town on December 27, 2017. 

The victim in the case described her rapist's apology letter as “disingenuous” and said he showed no remorse.

“I felt compelled to write a response letter to the apology letter,” she said, before saying that Kelly's apology “felt quite disingenuous due to the fact that he showed no remorse during the trial.”

“I never thought I'd get to see any justice knowing he was no longer in the country and had fled,” she wrote, “It would have been a comfort to know that he acknowledged what he had done before the conviction.”

The woman said the apology letter “felt that he had to do it” rather than Kelly being truly remorseful.

“I don't think he truly feels much for my pain and suffering,” she ended the letter, before saying she hoped Kelly gets the rehabilitation he needs to progress and “be the father he wants to be.”

Sentencing Kelly today Mr Justice Michael MacGrath said: “It is clear to the court that the offending of Mr Kelly has had a very significant effect and has caused (the victim) great harm”.

“She is, in my view, a young woman of great courage and fortitude and it can only be hoped that the great and harmful impact of that night and the subsequent trial will lessen in time.”

Aggravating factors in the rape were listed as the use of force, the fact Kelly had to be extradited from the UK which caused further harm and distress to the victim, Kelly's previous convictions and the gravity of the offending.

Mr Justice MacGrath also noted that a probation officer has found Kelly at medium risk of re-offending.

The most significant mitigating factor in sentencing was that at the time of the offending, Mr Kelly was 17 and therefore a child in the eyes of the law, the judge noted. Other mitigating factors included Kelly's personal circumstances growing up and that he is the father of two young children.

Mr Justice MacGrath sentenced Kelly to four years and nine months' imprisonment, but suspended the final nine months on strict conditions. The sentence was backdated to when Kelly entered custody on  June 29, 2022.

“If he had been an adult, the sentence that would have been imposed by the court would have been significantly higher,” the judge said. He also ordered Kelly to  have no direct or indirect contact with the victim for an indefinite period.

“The hope is that things will improve for her, but one can never be sure that that will occur,” Mr Justice MacGrath said, wishing the injured party well for the future.

At an earlier sentence hearing, Detective Garda Michael Esmond told Lorcan Staines SC, prosecuting, that the woman initially contacted Kelly to buy drugs off him.

They met in the town and walked to a secluded lane where they had what started as a consensual sexual encounter.

The woman saw a flash on Kelly's phone and thought he was videoing her. He became more and more forceful and removed her iPod from her pocket.

The woman told him to stop and Kelly became violent. He pushed her, causing her to bang her head, stood on her ankle and raped her.

When the assault ended, the women met her friends and immediately reported what had happened. She later told her parents who called the gardai.

The court heard that a medical examination found the woman had bruises and scratches to her neck, shoulder and vaginal area, consistent with the report of rape and assault.

Kelly was arrested and questioned but said the sexual intercourse was consensual and had occurred somewhere else. He denied that he raped the woman.

He was released, but left Ireland and went to England. He was later extradited. Kelly has been in custody since June 29, 2022.

In a victim impact statement handed in to the court, the woman said: “After the rape, I felt like nothing. I lost who I was. I lost the hopes and dreams that I once had.”

“I felt empty every day. I felt nothing but sadness and loneliness,” she said, “I just wanted to be happy but nothing made me feel happy.”

“...For a very long time I was very afraid as to what could happen if I let my guard down or trusted the wrong person.”

The woman said the rape made her feel “dirty and disgusting” and that “My Christmases were never the same.” She said she began using drugs to deal with the emotions resulting from the rape.

“I still stand up with my head held high,” she wrote. “I was young and innocent and that innocence was taken for me.”

Damien Colgan SC, defending, said his client fully accepts the verdict and expresses remorse.

He said Kelly was a juvenile at the time of the rape and answered all questions put to him during garda interview.

Mr Colgan said his client was willing to engage with any services that the court deems necessary.

Defence counsel read from a letter written by Kelly to the victim in which he apologised for what happened.  “I never wanted it to get out of hand the way it did. I was in a very dark place and I'm now prepared to accept whatever punishment the judge gives me.”

Kelly has 27 previous convictions for possession of knives, possession of drugs, theft, handling stolen property, criminal damage, failure to appear, assault and road traffic offences.

Man to be sentenced later for raping woman in lane in Laois