The (double) rapists mother sings outside the court

A 35-year-old man who raped an 85-year-old woman in her home last summer has been sentenced to 21 years in prison.

Simon McGinley of Latlorcan Court, Monaghan, previously served six years in prison for raping a 13-year-old girl at the centre of the 'C' case.

The girl was babysitting his three children 12 years ago.

Mr Justice George Birmingham said that this case was just about as bad as it gets when you consider the age and frailty of the victim.

Justice Birmingham said it is hard to come to terms with the fact that the same person was capable of raping a 13-year-old girl and an 85-year-old woman.

He said McGinley was treated leniently by the courts for the rape of the child and the structure of the sentence then was designed to offer some light at the end.

By his activity, however, the judge said he had chosen to spurn the opportunity made available to him.

The judge said if McGinley cannot address his drink problem, everyone from very young girls to very old ladies is at risk.

McGinley was sentenced to 21 years in prison, but with remission he will serve less than 16 years and he will be released when he is 50.

Mr Justice Quirke told him he had to pay a heavy penalty for what was a particularly abhorrent rape. Not only had he violated an innocent girl and used violence against her but his action had also led to the death of another child through abortion.

His victim was only 13 years and the effect on her had been devastating. She had endured much, not only from the rape but from what followed as a result. "You have deprived her of some of her childhood and all of her adolescence. You do not seem to appreciate the enormity of what you done."
Mr Justice Quirke continued: "You are not a demon though some less responsible sections of the media have attempted to demonise you. You are a human being who did a dreadful, evil thing which left this young woman heavily, psychologically scarred for the rest of her life."

The effect on her would probably have followed even if she had consented to have sex with him because she was only a child. The judge said he was sure McGinley should be conscious of that as he had a daughter himself who would soon be 13.

Mr Justice Quirke said he took into account McGinley's previous good character, the fact he was a responsible husband and good provider for his family and that he had pleaded guilty even though that was after a jury had been sworn in

However, his plea had spared his victim having to relive her terrible experience in evidence. He suspended the final four years of sentence on condition McGinley undergo sex offenders treatment in prison. well that worked a treat