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Jail for teens who locked man in boot before raping his girlfriend

By Michael Doyle
Saturday July 31 2004
FOUR teenagers who locked a man in the boot of a car and then took turns raping his girlfriend have received sentences ranging from four to 10 years at the Central Criminal Court.

Thomas O'Neill, Dean Barry and Darragh Ryan, who are all 16; and 15-year-old Jason Ring, launched the savage attack on the couple after they found them together in Cratloe Woods, Co Clare, in the early hours of January 23. Ring was just 14 at the time.

Armed with a golf club, a screw driver, a wheel brace and a shovel, the four ordered the couple out of the car and the woman was struck on the shoulder with the club when she refused to give one of them a kiss.

The man was in possession of an extendable baton which he used in his job as a bouncer and when the youths found it they assumed he was a garda and started shouting "do him".

They forced him into the boot of the car and the woman was pushed on to the bonnet and her shorts were pulled down. She was dragged into the car and the four youths took turns raping her while they threatened to burn the car with her boyfriend in the boot if she resisted. At one point, they opened the booth and began to hit the man a number of times with the golf club.

Superintendent John Kerin told the court that the ordeal lasted for more than an hour and only ended when the man managed to escape from the boot and summon help from a passing motorist.

O'Neill and Ryan, both from Lenihan Avenue; Barry, from Garrglass, Ballinacurra, Weston; and Ring, from Crecora Avenue, Ballinacurra, all Limerick City, pleaded guilty to raping the 35-year-old woman on January 23, 2004.

They also pleaded guilty to falsely imprisoning the man, who was 36, and assault causing harm on both victims on the same date.

Mr Justice Paul Carney jailed O'Neill for 10 years because he was described in court as the "ringleader" and "director of operations" and jailed Barry for nine years because the probation report said he represented a continuing danger to others.

He sentenced Ryan to eight years and jailed Ring for the maximum four years for a person under the age of 16. He suspended the final year of O'Neill, Ryan and Barry's sentence because of their age and guilty pleas but said he had no jurisdiction to suspend a portion of Ring's sentence because it was to be served at Trinity House. The other three will go to St Patrick's Institution.

He issued certificates for leave to appeal because he described it as "a serious and unique case and I am not taking personal responsibility for how it is dealt with. Three minds in the Court of Criminal Appeal are more superior than mine."

He added: "I am fully aware that I am dealing with children and they have to be rehabilitated. However, the protection of society is at the forefront of my mind and people can not be exposed to danger by them in a short period of time.

"Because I am treating them as children does not mean I have to deal with them with short sentences and the community will have to be protected from their criminal propensities."

After imposing sentence, Mr Justice Carney heard submissions from various parties on identifying the four accused because they were children. He said he was concerned about them being demonised in the tabloids but added that he couldn't differentiate between different types of media or the four accused and made no order in relation to that.

The woman earlier told the court: "My life and the lives of my family were devastated with what happened. A lot of pieces have to be picked up and a lot of pain has to be dealt with. I'm trying to get on and not let it destroy the rest of my life."

The man said their lives were totally destroyed and that they went from being ordinary people into a living nightmare.

Supt Kerin told Michael O'Higgins, SC, prosecuting, that on the night in question, the youths had stolen a car and proceeded to burgle two national schools in the Limerick and Cratloe area. They had also stolen a bottle of tequila from an off-licence and had drank some wine.

The couple they attacked worked in the same bar in Limerick and had gone to Cratloe Woods in separate cars at about 3.05am after finishing work. The youths arrived soon after and began to subject the couple to their ordeal. They were arrested soon afterwards.

Halloran springs wrote: »

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