A Limerick law graduate has been handed a four-year prison sentence for the rape of a woman.
The sentence hearing at the Central Criminal Court heard that Eoin Considine, 24, and the complainant had been engaging in consensual sex which then became rough.
The intercourse continued after the woman had withdrawn consent and begged Considine to stop, the court was told.
Considine, of Old Barna Road, Newcastle West, Co Limerick, had pleaded not guilty to the rape of the woman at her then residence in the city on 11 August 2019.
He was convicted after a trial last January.
The woman, a student nurse, told the trial that she was out drinking in a city centre pub with her friends when she met the defendant.
They left together and went to her home where they began having consensual sex.
She said during this he began pulling her hair and banging her head against the headboard of the bed. He grabbed a fistful of her hair and she asked him to stop and he did but then did it again.
The court heard the sexual intercourse continued in a consensual way at this point. The woman testified that after a while the man became much rougher and "he put his hand around my neck and started to choke me".
She said at one point she was unable to breathe, she was very frightened and was shaking her head to tell him to stop.
She said he moved his hands on to her shoulders and was pinning her down.
The court heard that it was at this point she withdrew her consent and the man continued sexual penetration without consent.
"I started begging him to stop but he didn't stop having sex with me," she said.
This lasted 90 seconds, she added, before she was able to move him off by getting her feet up and under him and pushing him away.
Considine apologised to the woman and told her he thought "she liked it" and that he had had a previous partner "that liked it".
He also told her he could not stop because she was "so good looking".
The woman was upset and asked Considine to leave.
He initially refused and said he wanted to make sure she was okay but she told him she just wanted him to leave and he did, the court heard.
Imposing sentence today, Mr Justice Paul McDermott said rape was a "very serious offence whatever form it takes".
He said rape was a "violation of the victim's bodily integrity" and a "grossly invasive act of violence".
The judge noted the prosecution had emphasised that there was "extensive consensual engagement" between the woman and Considine for most of their time together, except for the period of 60 to 90 seconds in question.
He said the circumstances of this case are "somewhat unusual" but consensual sexual engagement beforehand "does not excuse a failure to stop".
Mr Justice McDermott set a headline sentence of four-and-a-half years.
He noted that Considine accepts the verdict of the jury, but continues to deny rape.
Mr Justice McDermott said there was no guilty plea or expressions of remorse which would allow the court to reduce the headline sentence substantially.
He said Considine's regrets are focused on the impact of this case on his family, but there has been "little or no thought for the victim".
Mr Justice McDermott handed Considine a prison sentence of four years.
The judge also directed that he place himself under the supervision of the Probation Service for 18 months after his release from prison.
