Rape verdict - DPP must appeal bizarre verdict

RAPE — no matter if the victim is male or female — is a most heinous crime.

Therefore, the suspended sentence handed down by Mr Justice Paul Carney in a trial of male rape is, to say the least, perplexing.

As emphasised by Breda Allen, chairwoman of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, it may well discourage other victims from reporting rape. The fact that the victim in this case was male is neither here nor there. Rape is rape is rape.