This article is from page 4 of the 2007-05-15 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
MARY Shannon was delighted that her attacker was ordered to serve his three-year jail term last week. She believes she did the right thing by going public last March.
The 33-year-old was in the Central Criminal Court to hear Mr Justice Paul Carney activate the suspended sentence, on Friday afternoon.
“When I went public, I really did
not know I was doing the right thing. But if I did not do it, nobody would have known and I would have been another rape statistic,” said the moth- er-of-three.
She believes that Adam Keane would be still free, if she had not gone public and she now hopes her ordeal will help change the way rape cases are handled.
“I hope the new government com- ing in will start to deal with the issue
properly and put in place clear guide- lines for judges,” she said.
“I do think when I went public I took control again. Him going to jail was not even as important as me do- ing that,” said Ms Shannon.
The court hearing was the latest step in a high-profiled saga involving Ms Shannon.
She waived her right to anonymity in the wake of Adam Keane being handed a three-year suspended term,
in March.
She spoke out publicly and her family, relatives and friends rallied around her, offering support. She be- lieves that speaking out has helped to put the rape behind her.
She was pleased that the DPP de- cided to appeal the leniency of the sentence.
The DPP’s appeal is due to be men- tioned at the Court of Criminal Ap- peal next week.