A MullingaR chef has received a 7 year sentence after being convicted of raping a young woman in 2010, after inviting her back to his apartment.
Samir Mansour (48) had pleaded “not guilty” at the Central Criminal Court to raping the woman at his then apartment at Windmill Hill, Prospect, Dublin Road, Mullingar on 8 January, 2010.
The defendant, with a current address at The Lock, Market Point, Mullingar, was convicted by a jury after six and a quarter hours’ deliberation and a 10-day trial earlier this month, having been remanded in custody, until sentenced this week by Mr Justice Barry White.
The Court of Criminal Appeal had last year ordered a retrial in the case, after finding that questions asked by a previous jury prior to his conviction on four 2012 charges had rendered the outcome unsafe. The trial had also collapsed on one occasion prior to the initial conviction.
At the retrial last year, Mansour was acquitted on a number of counts with the jury disagreeing on the rape charge, leading to the trial this year.
Mr Justice Barry White said the fact that the case had come before the court four times would have played on Mansour’s mind as well as the victim’s.
He noted the offence had had a deep and lasting effect on the injured party. He thanked the jurors for their service and discharged them from further jury duty for life.
A seven year sentence was imposed, with Mr. Justice White suspending the final year on conditions.
Gda. Joe Kenny told Patrick Marrinan SC, prosecuting, that the then 20- year-old woman had been out socialising before going to a nightclub, where she met Mansour. He suggested they go back to his apartment, where he was having some friends over.
The woman told him she was gay and he told her that he was also gay, but she was not inclined to believe him.
He cooked for her and there was ‘risque’ material on the television. When the defendant indicated his friends were not coming, she became apprehensive, and tried unsuccessfully to call friends and a taxi.
She said Mansour began making lewd remarks and told her: “All gay people have sex together.” She asked about an exact address of his home, but he would not give it to her.
She said Mansour changed completely, became aggressive and grabbed her arms. She bit him, but he easily overpowered her, and manhandled her into a bedroom, where he raped her.
Afterwards, he told her he was sorry, and asked if they could still be friends. She agreed, in order to placate him, and rang her father as soon as she left the apartment, telling him she had been attacked. The Gardaí were alerted and she was taken to a sexual assault treatment unit.
The court heard that Mansour had no previous convictions and had been working as a chef in a Mullingar restaurant since coming to Ireland from Tunisia in 2001. He is a father of one from a previous marriage.
Mr. Marrinan handed in a victim impact report, which, he said, the young woman did not require to be read out, but indicated that the offence has had long-term effects on her. It ws the Director of Public Prosecutions’ view that the offences were at the high end of the mid-range.
Barry Condon SC, defending, submitted that his client had a significant work history and had cooperated with and been respectful to the Gardaí and the courts. He handed in a number of testimonials on his behalf. He asked the court to take into account the delay in proceedings coming to an end and that Mansour had spent time in custody following his initial conviction.
