A man jailed for 15 years for rape did not receive a fair trial after the complainant branded him a murderer and a member of the Russian mafia from the witness box, the Court of Appeal was told today. <\/p>\n
The man, a 71-year-old Polish national, had pleaded not guilty to two counts of rape contrary to common law and four counts of rape, contrary to Section 4 of the Criminal Law (Rape) (Amendment) Act 1990, against a woman who was working as his cleaner. <\/p>\n
But he was found guilty following a trial and jailed by Ms Justice Tara Burns, who noted he had treated the victim like a \u201cslave\u201d and \u201ca sex object\u201d between September 2012 and January 2016. <\/p>\n
He is now appealing the conviction on the grounds that the jury in his trial at the Central Criminal Court in July 2019 should have been discharged after the complainant alleged during cross examination that the defendant had Russian mafia links and had murdered a man in that country. <\/p>\n
The allegations were made \u201cwithout notice\u201d, Michael Bowman SC, for the appellant, told the Court of Appeal. \u201cThese are matters that are highly prejudicial,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Mr Bowman explained the claims were made when the complainant was asked by the defence if she knew the accused worked as a \u201cgarageman\u201d. <\/p>\n
In response, the complainant said the accused was a \u201cbeast\u201d and a \u201cdrug dealer\u201d who had \u201cmurdered a man in Russia and was in the Russian mafia\u201d. <\/p>\n
It was of \u201cno consequence\u201d if the accusations were \u201caccidental or deliberate\u201d, counsel continued, because afterwards \u201ceverything is out in the open\u201d and that his client\u2019s right to a fair trial \u201chad been compromised\u201d. <\/p>\n
When asked by Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy whether the jury should have been discharged at that point, Mr Bowman replied that although juries were \u201crobust instruments, a point must be reached when a tipping point has been passed\u201d and \u201cfall in favour of a discharge\u201d. <\/p>\n
Patrick McGrath SC, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, told the court that if there \u201cwas any merit in the complaint that the accused suffered from an unfair trial\u201d as a result of the allegations made by the complainant \u201ca decision ought to have been made at that point in time to make a discharge application\u201d. <\/p>\n
The judge, he said, had told \u201cthe jury these matters were to be put from their minds and were not relevant to the decision they were to make in the case\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe defence is now seeking to reconstruct the way the case was fought,\u201d Mr McGrath continued. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe learned trial judge made a reasoned decision that this court ought to uphold and not interfere with.\u201d <\/p>\n
Judgment has been reserved. <\/p>\n
During the trial, the court was told that the victim became pregnant after she was raped by the man who had been introduced to her as \u201ca good guy\u201d who could help her with some financial difficulties. <\/p>\n
The woman, a non-national, said the accused destroyed her life and that he “only told me how to kneel, obey and be quiet\u201d. <\/p>\n
The accused man has convictions for rape from Poland and has served a three-year prison sentence for threat to kill following an Irish conviction. <\/p>\n
The woman was first introduced to the man while she and her partner were struggling financially, having moved to Ireland. <\/p>\n
The couple were living in Galway when the woman took up an offer of accommodation at the man’s home, along with her two daughters, on the understanding that she would work as a cleaner for him. <\/p>\n
The woman and her partner were also going through a difficult time in their relationship as he was drinking heavily. <\/p>\n
Passing sentence, Ms Justice Tara Burns described the woman’s victim impact report as \u201cchilling\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt is short but it reveals the depths of destruction he caused,\u201d the judge said, before she added that the woman \u201clegitimately\u201d continues to live in fear. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe treated her like a slave, an item to be possessed,\u201d Ms Justice Burns said, before she added that at the time, the woman, \u201cwith just cause, saw no way out\u201d. <\/p>\n
She said the offences are of \u201cthe most serious kind, veering towards almost unbelievable\u201d. <\/p>\n
Ms Justice Burns described as \u201chorrifying\u201d that in modern times the man had \u201cpossessed, controlled and falsely imprisoned the woman for his own sexual gratification\u201d. \u201cHe used her as a sex object,\u201d the judge continued. <\/p>\n
She said the man used \u201ccontrol and dominance over the woman and her family\u201d using threats and violence within the background of a serious criminal history. <\/p>\n
Ms Justice Burns said there were \u201cno mitigating factors in the case\u201d and that a life sentence would be appropriate before she took into account the man’s age and health issues and imposed a sentence of 15 years. <\/p>\n
Kenneth Fogarty SC, defending, told the court that his client did not accept the jury verdict.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A man jailed for 15 years for rape did not receive a fair trial after the complainant branded him a murderer and a member of the Russian mafia from the witness box, the Court of Appeal was told today. <\/p>\n
The man, a 71-year-old Polish national, had pleaded not guilty to two counts of rape contrary to common law and four <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":32472,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n