Kerry man jailed for raping sleeping woman in her own bedroom

Eight-year sentence for man, who was a trusted  family friend who abused this trust and not shown any remorse since, says judge

A Kerry man has received a prison sentence of eight years, with 18 months suspended, for raping a young woman as she slept in her own bedroom.

The Central Criminal Court heard Conor Quaid, aged 26, was in the victim's home on the night because he was a trusted family friend.

Ms Justice Mary Rose Gearty said that he abused this trust and noted that he has not shown any remorse since.

Quaid, of Monaree, Dingle, Co Kerry, had pleaded not guilty to rape at a place in the county on June 10, 2018. After a seven-day trial, a jury at the Central Criminal Court found him guilty by a majority verdict of 10-1.

The court heard that Quaid had travelled to the home of the victim after a night out drinking in a nearby town. The woman had stayed in that night, wasn't drinking, and had gone to bed early.

Quaid went to her bedroom and raped her while she was “curled up” asleep, Ms Justice Gearty said. The woman later told gardaí that she woke up to find someone raping her but she didn't know what was happening at first and she “froze”.

When she realised what was taking place, she turned her head and saw Quaid and said “what the hell are you doing”. She told him to get out of her room — Quaid jumped up and left the room and the woman then realised her pyjama bottoms and underwear had been removed while she slept.

She was struggling to make sense of what had happened and the next day she sent a message via Facebook to Quaid accusing him of raping her, said Tom Rice, prosecuting. He told the court that Quaid's replies to these accusations were “accepting of his guilt”.

Mr Rice said Quaid knew the victim was home alone on the night as her family were away on holidays. He said that while he was a family friend, he had not received express permission to enter the family home that night.

After his arrest, Quaid denied that sexual intercourse had taken place but said there had been consent to “a certain level of sexual activity”.

Micheal Bowman, defending, said his client has a medical history of alcohol dependency and that since this offence, he has made efforts to address this.

He said his client's father is a retired garda and his family would be well regarded and well thought of. 

He handed in a number of testimonials which he said were evidence that his client is a hard-working, honest man for whom this offence was out of character.

Mr Bowman handed in a number of testimonials from people who knew his client, including a publican for whom Quaid had worked as head barman.

This referee described Quaid as “very honest” and “the best employee I had in 25 years of business”.

Another referee who knows Quaid “personally” spoke of his commitment to a local GAA club and the time he had taken to care for an elderly relative.

Another referee described Quaid and “courteous and hardworking”. He said the offence was “out of character” and he hoped Quaid could move forward without the blight of addiction.

A team leader at a treatment facility for addiction described Quaid as having displayed responsibility for his issues.

Ms Justice Gearty said that there was no evidence that Quaid's alcohol addiction was such that he didn't know what he was doing and that there was evidence from before the attack that he was attracted to her.

“He wanted to have sex with her and he did so at a time when he no longer cared whether she consented or not,” she said, noting that while Quaid has accepted the verdict of the jury, he has not accepted the victim's version of events.

In a victim impact statement, read by Detective Sergeant Ernie Henderson, the woman said the attack has left her feeling powerless.

“You (Quaid) did whatever you liked. I had no choice on that night. You made me feel like I was worthless,” she said.

She said that, before the rape, she was a “happy, outgoing person”, but she now struggles with panic attacks, guilt, and shame on an ongoing basis. 

She said she tried to return to her third-level studies but couldn't concentrate and has since dropped out of college.

She described having to deal with “intrusive thoughts” of the attack on a daily basis, as well as nightmares and panic attacks. She said everybody in the locality knew about the rape.

“I know some people held me responsible and that is difficult when I am the victim,” she said.

Mr Rice said that “there is almost universal knowledge of the case” in the locality and that while the victim did not want to be identified, she did want Quaid to be identified.

Ms Justice Gearty said the victim had a right to security in her own home and that Quaid violated the sanctity of her home. She said the reason he was there and knew where the victim slept was due to his position as a family friend and that he had abused this trust.

She imposed a sentence of eight years and said the court had little scope to reduce this because of the absence of a guilty plea or of remorse. She did suspend 18 months on condition he be of good behaviour for three years after his release and stay away from the victim in perpetuity.

Ms Justice Gearty said she was taking into consideration Quaid's relative youth, his lack of previous offending, and the fact that he had struggled and overcome an alcohol addiction.