A 25-year-old Nigerian man identified as Utseoritselaju Uwatse, has been jailed by an Irish court for four years for raping a fellow college student.
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The prosecutor said that Uwatse had met the victim, identified as Ms Danielle Lyons, at a pub while celebrating some friends’ birthdays, and that Ms. Lyons and another friend left the pub and returned to the student village where a number of parties were taking place in different apartments.
According to the prosecutor, at one stage, Uwatse picked Ms. Lyons up and carried her into a bedroom and laid her on the bed where she remembered him removing her shoes before falling asleep.
Ms. Lyons told the court that she woke early the following morning and her clothes did not feel right and she could feel pressure in her vagina, adding that Uwatse was beside her and he asked her if she “was on the pill”.
She said she found the question unusual and Uwatse then told her that they had sex and that the condom had broken.
She realised she had not consented to have sex with him and became upset.
The court was informed that Uwatse left the apartment and the gardaí were called. He was arrested and questioned in June 2018 and where he told the gardaí that the sex had been consensual.
The victim in her victim impact statement in the court said, “I don’t think there are any words that would convey the damage that you have done”, and “The woman who is here today is broken down”. She also said, “I felt guilty for the heaviness I brought to my friends and family.”
The trial judge, Justice Paul Burns, while sentencing Uwatse on Tuesday said that rape was a serious crime and he agreed that Uwatse deserved a headline sentence of between seven and 10 years.
Justice Burns noted that Uwatse had had a “promising future” ahead of him before this offence, and that he has no previous convictions.
The judge said he hoped that the woman, with the support of her family and friends, would be able to put the matter behind her as best as she could.
Quadri Olaitan is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering news, public affairs, and human-interest stories.
