A man has been jailed for three-and-a-half years for the rape of a woman he was dating, after having sex with her without a condom.

The Central Criminal Court heard the woman had told the man she was not interested in unprotected sex, but that he had penetrated her.

The man stopped after she told him that he was raping her.

In her victim impact statement, the woman said the rape had "destroyed her spirit" and described sleeping with a knife under her pillow for a time afterwards. She said the rape had "effected every branch of my life in a profound way".

The man, who cannot be identified to protect the woman's identity, was convicted by a Central Criminal Court jury of raping the woman at her apartment in Dublin on November 23, 2014.

Mr Justice Paul Butler said that in the 18 years he has been dealing with rape cases, this case fell into one of the lowest categories he had come across. He said this was not to denigrate it.

He noted there had been some consensual sexual activity between the parties and the only clear rule was no unprotected sex.

He said this was ignored on this one occasion and that amounted to rape.

Mr Justice Butler said the offence appeared to have had an "appalling effect" on the woman.

He noted the man had a clean record and he took into account the testimonials handed into court. He said he believed that the minimum sentence he could impose for rape was one of five years. He suspended the final 18 months, due to his lack of other offending and prior good behaviour.

Mr Justice Butler noted the woman in her victim impact statement indicated she was in fear of the accused and afraid of him coming at her with a knife or sledgehammer. He said there had been no suggestion of any violence at all other than the rape.

The investigating garda told Sean Gillane SC, prosecuting, that the woman met the accused at a pub in early November and after regular phone and text contact they went on to meet up. The woman made it clear that sex without a condom was not something she was interested in. The garda said that on the night of the incident the pair were kissing in bed and the woman told the accused if he wanted to have sex there was a shop nearby where he could get condoms. The man said he didn't want to, and appeared to understand her position.

Later they were kissing again, and the accused man penetrated her. She told the accused man he was raping her and he stopped. The woman contacted a friend after he left, and she was examined in a sexual assault treatment unit.

Barry White SC, defending, handed in a number of testimonials to the court and said the accused man has a strong work history. He said there had been a "brief but intense relationship" between the two.

Irish Independent