The judge said the woman had “always been very frank” that the background to the rape was clearly consensual
A member of the Irish Defence Forces who “spurned the consensual offer that was made to him in a selfish, arrogant and forceful way” has been jailed for eight and half years for the rape of a fellow soldier at a Dublin hotel three years ago.
. “It was her prerogative and privilege to make a decision as to who and when she would have sexual activity and who, when and the level of that activity,” Justice Hunt continued. He described those earlier testimonials in relation to Mooney being a good father as “a false prospectus” and a “gross overstatement” that his children will miss him if he is remanded in custody.
“I don’t buy that for one moment and the jury clearly don’t either. She is clearly a robust person who would take such disappointments in a normal way without making false allegations,” the judge continued. He said it was “very clear” that something had happened that was “radically wrong” and “radically different” from what the woman had consented to.
“No court should be put in a position of being faced with a false prospectus,” the judge said, before he added that this was “warning to anyone who is considering overselling themselves in terms of mitigation”. The woman was very distressed. She managed to get back into the bathroom and phoned her friend, who told her that she and two other male friends were nearly at the hotel. Garda Moyston said when the woman’s friends arrived, Mooney was dressed. The woman was hysterical and crying. The two men forced Mooney out of the room and the Gardaí were called.
“I did not want to go through with life anymore,” the woman continued, before she added that it impacted on her work as she could not perform her duties. She had been nominated for a course which would have meant a promotion in work but she was unable to participate. She said “the actions of another person” were continually impacting on her life as she also lost all interest in the hobbies she used to enjoy.
Mr Justice Hunt thanked the woman for taking the time to read her victim impact statement. He said he hoped that the vindication she got from the jury would help her going forward. “You owe it to yourself to think of yourself now going forward,” he said. “He is criminally liable for what he did and what he did would be viewed as entirely reprehensible by society,” Mr McGinn continued.
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