Rape bail reversal - A welcome if worrying admission

Yesterday’s decision, and an admission that he was wrong, by Mr Justice Paul Carney in the case brought against Patrick O’Brien, who was convicted of raping his daughter Fiona Doyle over a decade, is welcome.

The relief evident in Ms Doyle’s voice yesterday, after her father was jailed, contrasted vividly with the despair she so plainly expressed on Monday when he walked free. Just as her despair was matched by the anger expressed across the country the relief and vindication she so obviously felt yesterday were shared by more people than she will ever know. Some of those people had planned to protest in Dublin and Bray tomorrow to show their support for her and to express their deep unhappiness with Judge Carney’s initial decision.

That she so gracefully acknowledged Judge Carney’s acceptance that he had erred can only add to the impression that Ms Doyle is a brave and impressive individual. She, despite the trauma the proceedings must have provoked, is a reassuring example to others who, especially earlier this week, may have been reluctant to report abuse to the gardaí.

Nevertheless, serious questions remain about sentencing consistency, in so far as it is possible, and how the courts reflect the attitudes and needs of society when these decisions are made.

Judge Carney’s record cannot be ignored either. There seems to be a disquieting pattern around the sentences he imposes when people are convicted of sexual crimes. It is simply not good enough to say that he felt constrained because of how the appeal process might review his decisions, he must rule on the evidence put before him. That is all those either charged or wronged ask of any court and they are entitled to expect that.

The unfortunate episode was so out of kilter with the instincts of a civilised society that it could not have been allowed stand. That it was not the first or second instance where victims of sex crimes were not well served by our justice system — or their community — made it impossible to ignore.

Indeed, Judge Carney’s admission came just before, and probably precluded, an expected application by the DPP to have O’Brien’s bail rescinded. The DPP’s immediate reaction was appropriate and reassuring. It reflected the sense of outrage widely felt after Monday’s events.

There are many and complex layers in this episode but nothing that happened yesterday assuages the concerns expressed earlier in the week. Indeed, that the ruling was so quickly reversed exacerbates them. Despite an earlier review of rape sentences — provoked by a ruling by Judge Carney — it is now more essential than ever that the transparency and the kind of consistency needed to reassure victims and society that our courts reflect our values be put in place.