Kennefick, Louise (2015) DPP v Hustveit: suspended sentence for rape in Ireland – an appropriate response? Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly, 66 (3). pp. 289-295. ISSN 0029-3105

Preview

Download (518kB) | Preview

Abstract

DPP v Husrveit' is the second case since the introduction of s 2 of the Criminal Law (Rape) Act 1981 (section 2 rape) to impose an outright non-custodial sentence for an offence of rape in Ireland.2 The case concerns the repeated rape and sexual assault of a woman by her partner as she slept, often while she was under the influence of prescribed medication which had a sedative effect. The behaviour of the defendant first came to light during the relationship when he admitted to the assaults following a confrontation with the victim and later during an email exchange where the victim asked him to explain his actions. The emails from the defendant detailed how he had raped the victim up to 10 times and touched her in her sleep up to three times per week throughout their relationship. The defendant received a suspended sentence of seven years' imprisonment, having pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to one count of rape and one count of sexual assault between 2011 and 2012. In suspending the sentence, McCarthy J described the circumstances as very exceptional.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	DPP; Hustveit; suspended sentence; rape; Ireland; appropriate response;
Academic Unit:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Law
Item ID:	9403
Depositing User:	Louise Kennefick
Date Deposited:	24 Apr 2018 14:14
Journal or Publication Title:	Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly
Publisher:	SLS Legal Publications (NI), Faculty of Law, Queen's University
Refereed:	No
URI:	Publisher
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

Repository Staff Only(login required)

Item control page

Downloads

Origin of downloads