Rapist attempted to rob woman 14 hours after release from jail

A CONVICTED rapist who attempted to rob a 24-year-old woman 14 hours after being released from prison has had his sentence adjourned until July at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

Trevor Byrne, aged 32, of O’Devaney Gardens, Dublin, pleaded guilty to the attempted robbery of Noemie Krey, at Leo Street, Dublin 7, on September 15, 2009. He also pleaded guilty to two counts of burglary at the same address on the same date.

The court heard Byrne had been released from prison approximately 14 hours before and was under garda surveillance.

A garda saw him enter the victim’s house but “did not know the context of him entering the house”. The garda subsequently “saw him running away”.

Judge Patricia Ryan adjourned sentencing until July after noting the Probation Service needed time to address issues, including a further risk assessment.

Byrne indicated in court that he wished the sentence to be finalised yesterday but Judge Ryan said she was not in a position to do so, given his previous offending behaviour on release. She remanded Byrne in custody until July 28.

Garda Ronan Hobbs told James Dwyer BL, prosecuting, that Ms Krey, a French national, was on the phone to a friend while walking home from a social gathering when she saw someone in a red hoodie coming towards her.

When Ms Krey asked him what he wanted, he grabbed her phone and hit her in the face with it.

He told her to open the door, followed her inside and demanded money from her.

Byrne fled the house when Ms Krey alerted her flatmate to his presence, but was arrested the next day and interviewed at Mountjoy Garda Station.

He denied contact with Ms Krey, denied entering her home, and would not participate in an identity parade. He also denied he had been wearing a red hoodie — even though both Ms Krey and the garda watching him had seen him wearing it — until he was shown CCTV footage of himself.

Garda Hobbs told the court that Byrne had nine previous convictions, including a 15-year sentence for orally and vaginally raping an 18-year-old woman.

He also was sentenced to five years in October 2006 after assaulting a 32-year-old woman.

It was on his release from this sentence that he carried out the attack on Ms Krey — just 14 hours after being let out of jail.

In her victim impact statement, Ms Krey told the court she received psychiatric treatment as, three months later, she began to have nightmares.

“I will always be connected in some way with Trevor Byrne’s life,” she said. “I just hope that nobody else has to go through what I had to — it’s horrible.”