A FORMER MEMBER of the Defence Forces who carried out a “violent and degrading” rape and assault of a college student who did not know “if she would be able to get out alive” has been jailed for nine years.

The 29-year-old man, who can’t be named to protect the anonymity of the student, pleaded guilty to one count of rape at an apartment in Co Galway on 1 November 2019.

He was 25 and serving in the Defence Forces at the time. The woman was 20 and in college.

The incident occurred over one night and involved the man raping, sexually assaulting and assaulting the woman, including repeated choking.

In her victim impact statement, the woman said she sometimes thinks what might have been “if I died that night” and “how the papers and press would treat me with sympathy”.

“Instead I survived,” and she said she now has to “fight” the shame faced by many victims of rape and assault.

She said: “The only thing between this reality was one breath.”

Imposing sentence today, Justice David Keane described the rape as “violent and degrading” and said it fell on the “upper end of more serious offences.”

In sentencing, the court heard the aggravating factors of the assault included the extended nature of the ordeal, the repeated choking of her and the victim “not knowing if she would be able to get out alive.”

The “most significant” mitigating factor was that the man pleaded guilty. Justice Keane also considered that he was of previous good character, with no previous convictions and “exemplary” military service.

Justice Keane sentenced the man to 11 years’ imprisonment, but suspended the final two years on strict conditions. The sentence was backdated to when the man went into custody on 7 June this year.

The judge wished the victim well and commended her for her “powerful” victim impact statement. He said he hoped she could attain a degree of freedom from the psychological impact of the crime.

The court previously heard that the victim and a group of friends were on a night out in Galway.

Both the accused and the complainant were romantically interested in each other and spent time together alone while the group was socialising in the city.

The group returned to an apartment and the man went to bed. The woman entered the bedroom and told gardaí that “the atmosphere changed,” as the man could not recall her name and became aggressive.

He then raped and seriously assaulted her. This included biting her forcefully on multiple parts of her body and punching her torso and abdomen. He choked her several times, mimicked her making choking sounds, put her in a headlock, and later raped her.

During the assault, he told the woman she was a “freak” multiple times and to “relax”. At one point, he told her: “You like all this Ted Bundy shit.”

She was eventually able to escape and raise the alarm. She was taken to a sexual assault treatment unit, before being transferred to hospital for treatment for injuries to her neck, abdomen and genital area.

The man was arrested later that same day and interviewed twice during which he made partial admissions. He told gardaí he had been drinking too much and could only recall parts of the night.

He told gardaí he was “sorry for hurting the girl, but alcohol does not agree with me”.

In her victim impact statement, the woman said she became a “victim of rape and serious physical assault at the hands” of the man.

She said she sensed something was wrong when the man asked her name as he had “spent that night talking to me and about me to friends”.

The woman said she had no control or power at the time.

“All I could do was try to survive the violent and relentless assault on every part of my body.”

She said she had to “endure until morning” when going to college seemed a “good excuse to get out of the room alive”.

She said the image of him “having me in a chokehold as I try my best to pull his hands from my neck” often comes into her mind and she “feared being within a breath of my life”.

The woman said she sometimes thinks what might have been “if I died that night” and “how the papers and press would treat me with sympathy”.

“Instead I survived,” and she said she now has to “fight” the shame faced by many victims of rape and assault.

She said: “The only thing between this reality was one breath.”

The woman said it was now time for her to take back control.

“I’m worthy of being alive. My story is worthy of being told. I did survive all of it.”

Cathleen Noctor SC, defending, said “the events of the night in question are undeniably horrific,” and that her client is “consumed with guilt and shame”.

She told the court that the man “doesn’t want to blame alcohol for his behaviour” and is being treated for anxiety and depression while in custody.

She said he had a difficult childhood and suffered from mental health issues in the past. The court was also told the man has been on medication for anxiety and depression while in custody.

Noctor asked the court to consider that there was no evidence the attack was premeditated, that he pleaded guilty and that he has apologised.

She said that the man’s life “spiralled in a downward trajectory after the offences” and that he is willing to engage with a sex offender’s programme.

He has been assessed as at medium risk of re-offending.

The man had no previous convictions.