Sentencing judge urged to consider age of three men who gang-raped vulnerable teenager

Dion Genockey gave evidence at trial and said he never disrespected a woman in his life. File picture: Paddy Cummins/IrishPhotoDesk.ie

WARNING: Some readers may find the following report upsetting

The judge in the case of three young men who drove a vulnerable teenager to a beach and gang-raped her has been urged to consider their youth at the time when sentencing them.

Dion Genockey, Troy Ryan and Daryl Rooney, all aged 24, were 17 and 18 years old when they drove the then 18-year-old teenager to Dollymount Strand six years ago, where they took turns raping her.

The court heard that after she was raped by the three men, the woman was told to get into a second car which had arrived at the scene. Two more men from that car then raped her, before leaving her on the beach. These men are not before the court.

Genockey of Clarion Quay Apartments, Rooney of Railway Street and Ryan of Lower Gardiner Street, all in Dublin city centre, were convicted of raping the woman at Bull Island, Dollymount, Dublin, on January 5, 2016, following a second trial at the Central Criminal Court in March this year.

The jury in the first trial, which was held in 2020, was unable to reach a verdict.

Mr Justice David Keane on Friday heard pleas of mitigation from defence counsel representing the three men. The court was initially packed with supporters but prior to the sentence hearing, the court was cleared so that just two family members were present for each defendant. The complainant listened to the proceedings via video-link.

The court heard none of the men accept the verdict of the jury and maintain their innocence. They have been in custody since the guilty verdicts were handed down last April. The court heard the men all have partners who support them.

Defence pleas

Conor Devally SC, representing Genockey, and Mark Nicholas SC, representing Ryan, told the court that their clients were both minors at the time of the offence and should be treated as such. Dominic McGinn SC said that although his client, Rooney, was 18 at the time, he was just a couple of months older than the others and should be treated in the same way.

“He was not any more mature than the other two and maybe less so,” Mr McGinn said, adding Rooney was diagnosed with ADHD and found to have a mild intellectual disability.

The court heard Rooney has 225 previous convictions, including violent disorder, drugs, public order offences, trespass, theft and road traffic matters. Mr McGinn said that since serving a prison sentence for prior offences and since becoming a father, Rooney has resolved to put his “petty offending, violence and drug use” behind him. He said sexual offending was completely out of character for Rooney.

Mr Devally outlined Genockey's background, telling the court that he set up his own bike repair shop business with the help of his parents. He has no previous convictions. Mr Devally said the deprivation of liberty was painful for Genockey, who has a child with his current partner.

Although Genockey has found it difficult to accept his status as a sex offender, he is open to getting treatment in prison and has been found to be at a low risk of reoffending, the court heard.

Mr Nicholas said Ryan has matured in the last six years since the offence. Although he maintains he did not commit a crime, he is “reconsidering whether consent was given”, the court heard. He was a “17-year-old immature person” at the time, Mr Nicholas said, but now has empathy for the victim and her difficult background.

Ryan has 24 previous convictions including for theft and drugs but had no previous convictions at the time of the rape.

Eilis Brennan SC, prosecuting, said that if the men had been adults at the time of the offending, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) would have recommended a headline sentence of 10 to 15 years. Mr Justice Keane said he would pass down sentence on November 4.

Victim impact statement

The young woman in the case previously told the court her life has been on hold for the last six years. “I have been waiting fearfully for the day they would get away with the pain and trauma they caused me,” she said. “I never felt like me again after they raped me and left me scared for my safety.” 

The woman said she had to go through two trials where she was cross-examined “for days on end” and “cruelly questioned” about her past and her childhood, much of which was spent in care. 

She said:
I did not feel like the victim.

“My mental health has suffered so much since they gang-raped me,” she said. She told the court she has struggled with drug addiction, and she will never get these years back.

“I fought hard to get justice,” she said. “I didn't give up. I didn't give up when I was threatened. I fought back. I fought back to get justice for me and for the safety of other women.” 

The woman concluded her statement by saying she hopes the three men “pay for the pain, trauma and loss they cost me on that night”.

Case background

Sergeant Paul Sweeney told the court that on the day in question, the young woman, who had recently left State care, travelled to Dublin to meet with friends. Later that evening, she purchased some Xanax pills and then went to an internet cafe.

While there, she was approached by a boy and told that the three teenagers, who she had never met before, wanted to talk to her. The men told her they wanted to bring her for a “quick spin”.

The woman initially declined but eventually agreed and left the cafe with Ryan (17) and Rooney (18) to get into a car outside, which was driven by Genockey (17). The trial was shown CCTV footage from the internet cafe.

The court heard the men drove out to Clontarf and down to the end of the wooden bridge at Dollymount Strand where they stopped by a shelter. Genockey then asked the woman: “Are we going to have some fun?” The woman replied no, she didn't want to and she had only wanted to go for a short drive, but the men were “refusing to listen”, the court heard.

Genockey and Rooney got out of the car and stood in the shelter while Ryan produced a condom from a stash in the glove box of the car and proceeded to rape the woman. When he was finished, Genockey got in and put a condom on.

Genockey tried to “sweet talk” the woman, the court heard, and said he wasn't going to hurt her, before he proceeded to rape her. Genockey then handed a condom to Rooney who raped the woman. 

At this stage, the woman “didn't even get a chance to say no”. It was “three against one” and she didn't have a choice, the court heard. The trial heard her door had a child lock on it and she could not get out of the car.

The woman was told another person was going to pick her up and bring her home and the men left the scene quickly. Another car arrived containing three men and she was raped by two of the men in this car. She said that the men all got into the car afterwards, laughed and drove away, leaving her in the middle of nowhere.

The court heard mobile phone evidence from one of the men's phones showed he rang an occupant of the second car. The woman immediately called 999 and was taken to hospital. The men were identified from CCTV footage taken from the internet cafe and arrested in 2018.

Genockey gave evidence at trial and said he never disrespected a woman in his life. Defence counsel claimed the woman initiated sex and Genockey said the woman was treated with nothing but respect by himself and his “two gentlemen friends”.

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