Man convicted of attempted rape of girl at Leitrim lakeside

A 25-year-old Lithuanian national has been convicted of attempting to rape a Longford student on the shore of a Leitrim lake last year after she had consumed whiskey, cider and cannabis.

Tomas Urbonas, a father of one, with an address at Landmark Court, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim was also found guilty by the jury at the Central Criminal Court of sexually assaulting the 23-year-old woman on the same occasion, April 8, 2007.

Mr Justice Paul Butler remanded him in custody for sentence on October 28, 2008 and directed that his name be added to the register of sexual offenders.

Mr Justice Butler was told that a European arrest warrant had been served on Urbonas for an alleged robbery crime in his home country.

The jury returned the guilty verdicts following some five hours deliberations over two days. The eight women and three men spent one night in a hotel and on return to court asked to hear a large amount of evidence read over again to them.

The woman earlier told prosecuting counsel, Mr Conor Devally SC (with Ms Roisin Lacey BL) she met Urbonas after having sex with his girlfriend's brother and sleeping with him the previous night.

She said she had taken half an 'ecstasy' tablet earlier that night and had consumed a considerable amount of alcohol at a Carrick-on-Shannon late-night venue.

"I wasn't in my normal state of mind," she said and told Mr Devally she was embarrassed when she woke up beside the man the following day.

She claimed that Urbonas got in beside her in the back of his car and tried a to kiss her after she, and him and the man she slept with had been drinking whiskey and cider at the lake shore. They had also smoked cannabis.

She said she got very angry and struggled strongly but he got her trousers half off and also partially undressed himself. She said he pressed his penis against her but she wasn't aware of any penetration.

She continued struggling and he sat back and started masturbating. She said she thought the only way to get out of the car was past him so she pretended to give him oral sex and bit his penis as hard as she could.

Urbonas's partner said in evidence that an injury to his penis had been inflicted by her fingernails when she became angry with him in bed. "It was the only way to calm him," she said.

The jury's verdicts came on was day-seven of the trial in which Urbonas denied the charges and claimed in evidence that the student "screamed and shouted that she was not a prostitute" after he asked her if he could kiss her in the back of his car.

He denied that he forced himself on her and said he tried to calm her down and explain that he did not want to hurt her but that she assaulted him.