Child rapist’s sentence appeal dismissed

A man who lured two girls away from a birthday party and told them he would cut their parents’ throats before repeatedly raping them has had an appeal against his sentence dismissed.

The 32-year-old man, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, had pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to raping the girls, aged nine and six, in a flat in Athlone on September 28, 2013. He was sentenced to life imprisonment by Mr Justice Paul Carney on March 3, 2014.

The man moved to appeal his sentence last month on grounds that it was excessive in all the circumstances.