A 28-year-old man has been jailed for nine years for causing the unlawful termination of a woman's pregnancy after forcing her to take five abortion pills and then locking her in a room on St Valentine's Day, 2020 in Letterkenny, Co Donegal.
Judge John Alymer said Adeleke Adelani, who had pleaded guilty to unlawfully ending the life of a foetus, carried out an extreme act of physical and emotional violence, ignoring the victim’s obvious distress.
Content warning: Distressing detail below
Letterkenny Circuit Court heard that Adelani told the victim that he would beat her nine-week-old foetus out of her if she did not take the abortion tablets he obtained in Dublin on St Valentine's Day in 2020.
The woman called gardaí when Adelani left the house to purchase a pregnancy test, after he forced her to swallow the tablets.
Gardaí arrived at what was believed to be a domestic incident at a house just before 2.20pm on 14 February 2020.
Adelani was arrested at the scene. Gardaí seized his phone, but it remained locked for four years, as he would not provide the pin.
Officers succeeded in accessing the phone before he was due to stand trial last November. He pleaded guilty after a jury was empanelled.
When unlocked, the phone revealed internet searches on conducting an at-home abortion and an audio recording of the ordeal.
The court was told Adelani met the woman on Snapchat. The woman initially became pregnant by Adelani in October 2019 and they both decided to terminate the pregnancy with help from a doctor who prescribed abortion tablets.
She became pregnant again in January 2020 and decided to keep the baby having visited a friend and discussing her situation.
Adelani was due to go on holiday in February 2020, but when he heard the woman skipped an appointment to see her GP as she now wished to keep the child, he cancelled it.
He invited the woman to his home in Donegal under the belief that he too wanted to keep the baby and they both went to his home.
The court heard that after they had been intimate and spoke face-to-face, he forced her to take tablets normally prescribed by medical professionals in a controlled environment.
A conversation between Adeleke Adelani and the woman, recorded on Adelani's phone, when he told her she had to have an abortion was played to the courtroom.
The court was told that the man forced the woman to take five misoprostol 200mg tablets, told her how to swallow them and then locked her in a bedroom.
'Take this, I'm dead serious, I'm forcing you'
He is heard telling her: "I'm showing you what to do... take this... I’m dead serious... I’m forcing you. I don’t care, take it."
He is also heard saying: "It’s either you eat this or I beat that kid out of you tonight. I’m dead serious...I’m forcing you. I don’t care. Take it."
A garda told the court Adelani was following a process that he researched, and that the victim was crying throughout the recording.
Evidence was given how the woman became unwell after she was forced to take the tablets. She came down with a fever, she was shivering and she also had cramps.
She went to the toilet at one stage, and she was passing large clots of blood, and she was in great pain, the court was told.
When he left to get a pregnancy test, she phoned gardaí. Gardaí called to the house, and she was taken to hospital where she was treated at a Sexual Assault Treatment Unit.
A garda told the court that Adelani, who was interviewed four times, did not make any admissions, was non-compliant and did not look at the woman as a girlfriend.
The woman told the court last week that she would like to read out her own victim impact statement and added what Adelani did to her, did not end when the crime was over.
'He took my child'
"When he wrongfully imprisoned me and caused the termination of my nine-week pregnancy, he took far more than my freedom," she said.
"He took my child. He took my sense of safety. He took a future that I had already begun to plan and love.
"My baby was real to me. I had hopes, dreams, and a bond with the life that was growing inside me, and all of it was violently stolen from me in a moment of cruelty that I will never forget," the woman said.
She said the fact that this happened on Valentine’s Day made the pain deeper, and a day meant to represent and celebrate love became the day the man showed hatred toward her and her unborn child.
"While the world celebrated love, I was trapped, terrified, and losing my baby at the hands of someone I thought I could trust instead chose violence and not care."
She said Adelani's denial after the crime, caused her another level of harm and left her feeling invisible and alone.
"I lost friends through him denying what he did to me and my unborn child. I lost the support I needed to help me through that time.
"I have forgiven the defendant. The forgiveness does not mean what he did was acceptable. It means I refuse to let what he did continue to control my heart and my life.
"During Covid, when the world was already isolating, I carried this trauma largely by myself.
"For a time, I lost myself. It changed how I saw the world, how I trusted, and how I understood love," she added.
The woman said that she wanted the court to know that she did not remain in that darkness.
"Through healing and faith, I opened my heart again. I found love not only in my amazing husband, who treats me with the love, dignity and kindness I always deserved, but in Christ, who carried me when I could not carry myself," she said.
The woman said despite the healing and forgiveness, the impact of this crime remains.
"I will always grieve my child. I will always remember what was taken from me. Healing does not erase the loss, it only means I learned how to live with it.
The prosecution case was led by Mr Greene SC, with Ms Fiona Crawford BL, instructed by State Solicitor Mr Kieran Dillon.
Struggling with mental health
The accused man was represented by Mr James McGowan SC, with Mr Sean McGee BL, instructed by solicitor Mr Rory O’Brien.
In mitigation, Mr McGowan, SC, said his client had struggled with his mental health and had been involved in drug misuse.
The court heard his early teenage years were disruptive and chaotic and that he had been expelled from school a number of times but had completed his education.
In a letter to his victim, which was read in court, Adeleke Adelani said he now takes full responsibility for his actions.
He said he was "heavily apologising" for the pain he caused and added: "It was also my child, and a hole was also pierced in my heart."
"The thought of the pain I caused weighed heavily. I am now summoning the strength to face you and say sorry; not because I got caught but because I took away something that can never be replaced."
He said he has been studying conflict resolution while in prison and the court heard that his current partner is now three-months pregnant.
He said he wants to support his partner, raise his child and "be the man my family needs me to be".
He had pleaded with Judge Aylmer for a second chance and his letter concluded: "I won’t take it for granted, if given."
'Extremely premediated' offence - judge
Judge John Aylmer said Adeleke Adelani was before court on a guilty plea of unlawfully ending the life of a foetus and assault causing harm.
Judge Aylmer said the offence of unlawfully ending the pregnancy of the victim was "extremely premediated".
"You had done a great deal of internet research. It was something you planned very carefully. We heard the instructions you gave her with the medication you purchased and recorded yourself doing it.
"You lured her up to Donegal on the pretest of your pretending that you’d have the baby together and engage as a couple, before you forced her to take the medication, you had intimate relations with her.
"You were fully aware of her expressed desire to keep her baby and completely aware of the potential appalling emotional consequences of terminating the pregnancy without her consent.
"I consider the forced termination of the foetus as an extreme act of physical and emotional violence," Judge Aylmer said.
He said it was a further aggravating factor that Adelene Adelaki was on bail at the time for a previous offence.
Judge Aylmer said he had regard to the very moving victim impact statement.
"While she is very forgiving of you in a very Christian way, it is clear the appalling emotional trauma she suffered as a result of your actions."
The judge said he found it very hard to contemplate a more serious case in this regard and that the court viewed it as very much in the upper end in this type of offending.
He said it was the first time a case of this type came before the court with a maximum potential sentence of 14 years imprisonment.
In terms of mitigating circumstances, Judge Aylmer said Adeleke Adelani entered a plea of guilty on the second occasion that the case was listed for trial.
He said he spared the victim a further ordeal of a trial, which unfortunately she was expecting not once but twice.
He said Adelani had no convictions at the time of the offence, but he had quite considerable subsequent convictions and he was well known to gardaí in the area.
The court heard Adelani is serving a seven-year sentence with the final 18 months suspended for a separate offence, following sentencing last November.
Later in November 2025, he was sentenced to 21 months in prison for a separate offence. Those two sentences will run consecutively.
Judge Aylmer said Adeleke Adelani, who was 22 at the time of this offence appeared to be using his time well in prison, adding that he had completed the Choice for Change programme.
He acknowledged the letter Adeleke Adelani wrote to the court and to the victim, noting his remorse and "a significant element of victim empathy expressed in that letter".
Judge Aylmer sentenced Adeleke Adelani to 11 years in prison with the final two years suspended for causing the unlawful termination of a pregnancy and five years with the final 12 months suspended for assault causing harm.
Judge Aylmer said he suspended the final two years of the 11-year sentence to encourage rehabilitation to date and having regard to the totality principal.
The two sentences imposed will run concurrent to each other and they will run consecutive to the sentences Adeleke Adelani is currently serving in prison.
Following his release, Adeleke Adelani will enter a bond for €100 and has been ordered to keep good behaviour for two years.
'Victim displayed unwavering strength and resolve'
Following sentencing, Detective Inspector Paul McGee of Letterkenny Garda Station accompanied by the investigating team, read out a statement, recognising the strength of the victim and encouraging anyone affected in a similar situation to seek help.
He said An Garda Síochána wants to recognise the remarkable strengths shown by the victim in seeking accountability for the offences committed against her.
"During the course of this investigation, the victim displayed unwavering strength and resolve. By choosing to speak out, she has taken an important step that may encourage others who are suffering in silence to reflect on their own situations and seek support.
"Her decision to share her experience brings attention to the hidden reality of abuse that takes place behind closed doors."
Inspector McGee said this was a reminder that these crimes can and do happen in ordinary homes out of public view.
He said protecting those who are vulnerable remains central to the work of An Garda Síochána and this investigation demonstrates its determination to take reports seriously, to support victims and to carry out thorough and professional investigations.
"We urge anyone who has been subjected to violence, coercion or harassment, or who has concerns about the wellbeing of someone else to contact us.
"Dedicated supports are available through our Divisional Protective Services Bureau and every report will be treated with care, respect and confidentiality.
"For those who would prefer to speak by phone, you can contact your local garda station or the Garda confidential line on 1 8000 666 111," he said.
