Rapist told his wife ‘no god is going to help you’

A Laois man who raped and beat his wife in their marital bed after she declined to hold his hand has been jailed for five years.

Sentencing the man to seven years in prison, with the final two years suspended, Mr Justice Paul Butler said it was a “tragic” case” which had left a family destroyed.

“The family relationships of the brave victim have

been completely destroyed,” Mr Butler told the Central Criminal Court yesterday.

The man’s sentence hearing earlier this month heard that his two adult sons supported him and had written letters of testimonial describing him as a good father.

The victim, who was not in court for the sentence, previously gave an emotional victim impact statement in which she said that more than just her marriage died that night.

“I feel like a ghost,” she said. “The attack on me in my own bed was a complete shock. I couldn’t breathe, move, or make a sound.

“I was sure my life was over.”

Last October, a jury found the 45-year-old Laois man guilty of raping his wife on January 8, 2015. He had already pleaded guilty to assault causing harm to her by punching her repeatedly in the face prior to raping her.

The man, who can not be named for legal reasons, does not accept the rape guilty verdict.

The court previously heard that during the attack, the woman started screaming “help me God” before he told her: “No god is going to help you.”

He stuck his thumb in her mouth to stop her screaming for help from their son, leaving her unable to breathe for about one minute.

The court heard the attack was sparked by the man becoming annoyed when his wife did not hold his hand on the couch that night and told him “begging is not attractive”.

Mr Justice Butler said the woman’s victim impact statement was “very moving”.

“It has had a severe impact on her life and her family relationships,” he said.

Mr Justice Butler also took into account the fact that the man had no previous convictions and had led a “blameless life” until the incident.