This article is from page 22 of the 2007-03-13 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 22 JPG
A YOUNG Clare man has walked free after receiving a three-year sus- pended sentence for raping a woman in her home while she slept.
Adam Keane (20), a bricklayer, of Barnageeha, Darragh, Clare, was convicted at the Central Criminal Court in February by 10-2 majority of raping the now 33 year-old wom- an in a house on May 30, 2005.
Mr Justice Paul Carney said his de- cision was based on a previous rul- ing by the Court of Criminal Appeal following an appeal in relation to a sentence imposed by him in another case, brought by the Director of Pub- lic Prosecutions who regarded it as ‘moderate’.
Mr Justice Carney said that appeal was lost and the sentencing was set aside in its entirety.
“Having regard to the approach taken by the CCA to this type of of- fence in this type of case, I have to ask myself whether I would be com- fortable to imprison this young man who said it was out of character for him, but that if the DNA said he had done it, he wouldn’t shy away from his responsibility.”
Mr Justice Carney added, “People
from respectable homes taking al- cohol or drugs and then committing rape or murder come before the court with surprising frequency,” he said.
The complainant told the trial she woke from her sleep to find someone cuddling her.
At first she thought the man was
her boyfriend, who had left the house NU DCs mM OT-LoAY( oO OND OTSMmE-D Ko) Mme DOUmE-D ued Ue ment. By the time she realised the man was not her boyfriend, he had started to have sex with her.
She said she threw him off her and turned on the lights and recognised the man as then 18 year-old Keane.
She ran from the house and when gardai later arrived at the scene, Keane was still in her bedroom.
In interviews with gardai, Keane said he couldn’t remember breaking into her house or anything about the attack as he blacked out after drink- ing heavily and taking ‘ecstasy’ in a nightclub.
He said he didn’t think it possible he had raped her because he had never raised a hand to a woman in his life. It ‘went against everything’ he believed.
He said he blacked out regularly after heavy drinking and explained, “That’s why I’ve been thinking about giving up the drink for some time.”
However, he said he would accept any DNA evidence proving him as the attacker.
In her victim impact report, the victim said the rape had had a huge impact on her life and that she had had to move house twice since.
Defence counsel Mr Brendan Nix SC (with Mr Mark Nicholas BL) said Keane ‘deeply regretted’ what hap- pened and noted his client had not Ker D UNO OT-NOLoINrCeLOm DOR mearalO (oN Gom DOD ale oon