Kilcoo man is jailed for raping teenager at party

Kilcoo man is jailed for raping teenager at party

6 June 2012

A KILCOO man has been jailed for seven years for raping a woman at a party.

John Paul Brannigan (26) had denied the offence after a night out in Newcastle in August 2009, but was found unanimously guilty by a jury last month.

During sentencing at Downpatrick Crown Court sitting in Belfast on Friday, Judge Geoffrey Millar QC spoke of the devastating impact of the rape on the teenager and criticised those with knowledge of what happened at the party for failing to come forward.

At Brannigan’s trial the jury heard the woman had been at a party at a house in Shimna Mile, Newcastle, following a night out at Quinn’s nightclub.

She recalled “blacking out”, and waking up to find some of her clothes removed and the defendant on top of her.

She said she realised from his voice it was not the person she had come to the party with, recalling not being able to move, and then screaming.

During the trial Brannigan, of Moneyscalp Road, said she had fully consented to having sex and denied the offence.

In closing remarks to the judge before sentencing on Friday, prosecutor Donna McColgan said Brannigan had made “insulting” remarks about the victim during the preparation of pre-sentence reports and had “no victim awareness whatsoever”.

“She will continue to have psychological support for the foreseeable future,” said Ms. McColgan.

Defence barrister Martin O’Rourke said his client, a quantity surveyor and GAA player, had no record and had led an “entirely blameless life”. Among the references he presented to the court were letters from his current girlfriend and a former girlfriend.

“It is hard to imagine anyone coming before the court with a better background,” said Mr. O’Rourke.

Addressing his sentencing remarks to the court, manned by six uniformed police officers, Judge Millar warned he would not tolerate any disruption.

He began by saying he was making no assumptions as to what caused the victim to “black out” as described.

“There is simply no evidence on this subject,” he said. However, he criticised those who could have elaborated on what happened at the party that night for choosing to “keep away or say nothing”.

“This is a court of law,” he said. “It may be that these persons should examine their consciences on their own conduct in this affair.”

Judge Millar said medical reports indicated the woman was having difficulty dealing with the “uncertainty as to what precisely occurred before finding him on top of her”.

He said she had been left “severely traumatised” after giving evidence to the court for several days and had undergone “a big personality change”.

“The effects are long lasting and perhaps life changing,” said Judge Millar.

Although Brannigan did not break into the bedroom, he said the fact that the victim could not consent in any way to sex was an aggravating factor.

“It’s absolutely clear that he decided to have intercourse with her, knowing that she was powerless to resist,” he said.

The judge added that Brannigan’s continued denials showed he was “unrepentant” and had “no remorse”.

Brannigan is due to spend half of his seven year sentence behind bars and half on licence. The victim’s family applauded as the sentence was handed down.