A man who repeatedly raped two girls after luring them from a children’s birthday party in Athlone has appealed his life sentences.
The girls were just nine and six years of age when they were snatched in September 2013.
At his sentence hearing before the Central Criminal Court in March last year, the late Mr. Justice Paul Carney was reluctant to describe the case before him as the “worst one ever” but said he would find it “too upsetting to recite the facts”.
The 32-year-old offender lured the girls to his flat by pretending he had a six year old daughter who was too shy to come out and play.
He then repeatedly raped them and threatened to cut their parents throats during a terrifying ordeal that lasted 20 minutes.
Today, his lawyers argued that while this was the “darkest of cases”, their clients’ co-operation with the investigation and early plea should have merited a different approach by Mr. Justice Carney.
Counsel for the DPP disagreed, and went to say there doesn't need to be a long running campaign of abuse for a court to hand down a life sentence,
A decision on whether his appeal has been successful will be made next week.
