Rapist insults victim during hearing

A convicted rapist has been removed from court during his sentence hearing. He repeatedly interrupted proceedings, tried to sack his barrister, and called his victim, a grandmother in her 50s, a “filthy prostitute”.

Richard O’Brien, aged 57, of Arlington Lodge, Church St, Tralee, Co Kerry, lured his victim to a caravan in Dublin before raping her, assaulting her, and biting her during a sustained, vicious attack on March 19, 2011.

He then fled to the UK, before being extradited in 2013. He was found guilty by a jury earlier this year of rape, attempted rape, false imprisonment, and assault causing harm.

At the start of his sentence hearing at the Central Criminal Court, yesterday, O’Brien repeatedly interrupted the proceedings, ordering Anne Rowland, prosecuting, to “get her facts straight”, before turning on defence barrister Damien Colgan and telling him: “On your bike”.

After warning O’Brien several times, Mr Justice Tony Hunt ordered that he be removed from court. As he was led away, O’Brien turned towards his victim and verbally abused her.

The hearing resumed after the judge asked Mr Colgan to continue representing O’Brien, who has already sacked one legal team and is “the client from hell”, said Mr Justice Hunt.

Garda Ruth Brett told Ms Rowland that the victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was having birthday drinks with friends in a Dublin pub when O’Brien offered to buy her a drink. He then invited her back to a house party, allegedly for his sister’s birthday.

When the woman arrived at the house, she became uneasy and asked to get a taxi home. O’Brien invited her into a caravan at the back of the property, on the pretext of ordering her a cab, but, once inside, he told her: “There’s no effing sister and there’s no effing taxi, either.”

He then pushed her onto the bed, punched her repeatedly, bit her on the chest and neck, and raped her. The woman fainted during the attack, which went on for some time, the court heard.

It ended only after two men entered the caravan and stopped O’Brien. The woman fled the scene and was picked up by a couple in a car, who took her to a garda station. She was then taken to a sexual assault treatment unit.

One of the men who entered the caravan made a detailed statement to gardaí about what he had seen.

In a victim impact statement read out in court, the woman said she has had nightmares every night for the last five years. She said the attack led to the breakdown of her 23-year relationship and she had suicidal thoughts. She said her relationship with her children and grandchildren has suffered.

“For the last five years of my life, I have been existing, not living,” she said.

The court heard O’Brien has a previous conviction for rape and false imprisonment of a woman. He has been married twice and has seven children, but is estranged from his family.

Mr Justice Hunt adjourned the matter to December 12, saying he needed to consider sentencing. “This woman was beaten up, as well as raped. It’s a very bad set of facts,” he said.

The judge also expressed concern at O’Brien’s behaviour in court, saying “one gets a very real flavour” of his character.

“This man, even in the context of the Central Criminal Court, appears to have difficulty restraining himself. That is very worrying,” he said.