A man who took mobile phone pictures of a woman whom he repeatedly raped in the grounds of a church has lost his appeal to have his 12-year sentence reduced.

A Parish Priest today defended his decision to write a reference for a vicious sex attacker who repeatedly raped a Polish woman in the grounds of a church.

A man who repeatedly raped a married Polish woman in the grounds of a west Dublin church and school has been jailed for 12 years by Mr Justice Paul Carney at the Central Criminal Court.