Rapist who lured young girls from birthday party fails in bid to have sentence reduced

An appeal against the life sentence handed down to a man who raped two girls after luring them from a party in Athlone has been dismissed.

The girls, who were six and nine years of age when they were abducted in September 2013, managed to escape through a window in his flat.

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Two life sentences for man who raped young girls in Co Westmeath

At the man’s sentence hearing last year, the late Mr Justice Paul Carney decided not to go over the facts of the case again, telling the packed court he would find it “too upsetting” to do so.

The 32-year-old lured them back to his flat by pretending he had a six-year-old daughter who was too shy to come out and play.

Once inside, the man trapped them and took their clothes and his own off. He told them: “B***h, take them off or I will cut your parent’s throat open and then cut yours”.

He then repeatedly raped them during a terrifying ordeal that lasted 20 minutes.

The man was identified by one of the girls shortly after the attack and detained by relatives of the victims. He was arrested and initially denied the attacks.

On the fifth garda interview, he admitted everything.

He was sentenced to life in prison, but his lawyers argued that while this was the “darkest of cases”, his co-operation and early pleas should have been given more credit.

In dismissing his appeal today, Mr Justice George Birmingham said that while the majority of maximum sentences handed down for rape convictions involved systematic abuse by a person in authority, the facts of this case were exceptional and merited the concurrent life sentences handed down.