'Unspeakable ordeal' - Sexual 'predator' jailed for 15 years over late-night attack

A sexual “predator” who subjected a woman to “an unspeakable ordeal” has been jailed for 15 years.  

At a sentencing hearing this Friday, Martin Burke, aged 28, formally of Ballinorig Estate, Tralee, County Kerry was handed a 17-year sentence, with the final two years suspended.

Burke had pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to four counts, which include rape, oral rape, anal rape and sexual assault of the woman at a location in Tralee on December 18, 2022.

He has 17 previous convictions and was on bail at the time for similar offending. The victim has asked that Burke be named, but she does not wish to be identified.

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Passing sentence, Mr Justice Tony Hunt said: “The injured party was exposed to an unspeakable ordeal over a long period of time”. He added that the evidence regarding the oral rape was “extreme” and he described the facts of the case as “disturbing”.

Mr Justice Hunt said: “This is one of the most serious cases I have come across in a while, ” adding that Burke “is a sexual predator who preys on people”. He also said: “This case belongs in the highest bracket of offending.”

The judge said the aggravating factors in the case included the manner of the offending and the fact that Burke was on bail for similar offending at the time. He said he had also considered the contents of the injured party’s victim impact statement.

The judge said of the injured party that he hopes that the conclusion of this part of the process will help her and wished her well. “I don’t believe this event can be regarded as anything other than a life-changing event,” he commented.

Mr Justice Hunt set a headline sentence of 22 years but reduced this to 17 years after considering the mitigation.

He suspended the final two years of the sentence under strict conditions including that Burke keep the peace and that he be of good behaviour for the remainder of his life.

Burke is also to  have no direct or indirect contact with the injured party indefinitely.

The judge also directed Burke to remain under the supervision of the Probation Services for five years post-release and to carry out all directions that they deem necessary.

He said that Burke has “given the best part of his life away but that is down to him and his offending”.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, the woman said she feared for her life. She said she did nothing wrong that night because she knew Burke.  

“Since that night, I’m afraid of the dark…I was afraid to shower. I try to avoid going out after dark.”

The woman said that Christmas has been ruined for her. “Sometimes I get triggered. I don’t trust men at all”.

Mr Justice Hunt said: “He seems to set about people who he has some previous knowledge of. This is a very serious case."

OFFENCE

An investigating garda told Eoghan Cole SC, prosecuting, that Burke and the woman met each other and were seen on CCTV walking in the early morning hours.

They were seen walking up a lane at around 3am. Burke grabbed her by the throat with both hands, dragged her onto the ground, and tried to strangle her. The woman said the strangling went on for a minute or so, and she could taste blood in her mouth.

Burke said he wouldn’t kill her if she did what he said. He told her to take off her pants and pulled her by her hair into the alleyway. She was crying as he was dragging her backwards. He put his penis in her mouth and told her she’d “have to choke on it”.

He wouldn’t let go of her and pulled her on top of him. He then raped her vaginally, orally and digitally penetrated her anus. 

The court heard that the woman didn’t think Burke was particularly drunk but that he was 'not sober' either. There was a conversation afterwards where she promised she wouldn’t tell anyone. At 5.39 am, after she was left alone, the victim called her partner.

The woman, who was in distress, happened to be seen by two gardai on patrol and she was brought first to the garda station and then to a sexual assault treatment unit, where a physical examination was carried out.

The woman had significant areas of bruising on her neck and lower limbs, as well as fragments of pine needles on her body, consistent with the attack in the area she described. 

Burke was arrested and when interviewed, he told gardai it was consensual. He has been in custody since January 2023.

The woman he was in a relationship with at the time said that Burke's clothing had been left in the washing machine, and they were wet and muddy. He repeated that it had been consensual but he did feel guilty for cheating on his fiancée.

Mr Cole said the maximum penalty is life imprisonment and he highlighted to the court that Burke was on bail at the time of this offending.