A man who repeatedly raped his wife during their lengthy marriage has been sentenced to nine-and-a-half years in prison. The man, who cannot be named, was found guilty of five counts of rape and acquitted of three further counts. The couple's children were present in the house during some of the incidents.
A man who repeatedly raped his wife during their lengthy marriage "under the guise of Catholic entitlements" has been jailed for nine-and-a-half years. The 57-year-old Dublin man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his former wife, was found guilty by a Central Criminal Court jury of five counts of raping her in the family home and a holiday home on dates in 2006 and 2018.
He was acquitted of three further counts of rape, while the jury in the trial last June was unable to agree on a ninth count. The couple were married for nearly 20 years. Sentencing the man, Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring said the man had engaged in a fundamental breach of trust and a breach of his wife's bodily integrity in her own home and in the marital bed. The court heard the couple's children were in the house at the time of the rapes and on some occasions, a baby was present in the bedroom. "For centuries, the rape of women in marriage was not seen as a criminal offence," the judge said."The vows were seen to include the right of the man to have sex whenever, with or without her consent
Rape Marriage Imprisonment Trust Consent