A doctor who raped a nurse, as she was sleeping on a couch at a friend's apartment, has been jailed for eight years.
The victim said she "got justice" after the doctor Louay Kila was convicted by a jury last week following his trial.
Kila, aged 31, of Cois Luachra, Dooradoyle, had denied rape and sexual assault of the woman, at an apartment in Limerick city, on 2 March 2024.
Kila raped the woman and when she told him to stop, he carried on sexually assaulting her.
At the time, Kila was a senior registrar at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) and the victim was a nurse at the hospital.
In a statement after Kila’s conviction, the HSE said it should have immediately suspended Kila from duty but it did not.
"Dr Kila should have been suspended from clinical practice when we became aware of the assault. Regrettably, this did not occur. This does not reflect current practice and policy," said HSE Mid West.
"Protective measures were put in place for the victim based on her individual requirements following her identification of the assault. The welfare of our staff remains our priority," it added.
Kila was voluntarily suspended from the list of medical practitioners in Ireland in March 2025.
The court heard Kila encountered the victim at a bar on the night and they later separately went to an apartment afterwards as part of two different groups.
Man 'deliberately exploited' victim, says judge
Sentencing, Judge Sean Gillane said that Kila, who is Moroccan, had "deliberately exploited" the victim's "vulnerability" as she had been intoxicated and asleep when he raped and assaulted her.
The judge said Kila made unfounded claims to gardaí that he and the victim had engaged in consensual kissing and touching at the apartment.
Kila told gardaí that the victim had concocted the rape and sexual assault complaint against him because she was embarrassed and concerned that her then boyfriend would find out she had been kissing Kila.
The judge said the jury "rightfully rejected" Kila's unfounded claims.
"He (Kila) maintained it knowing it to be false. His level of culpability is very high, he was a mature man, and a doctor where the victim worked," said the judge.
"The victim was vulnerable through consumption of alcohol and asleep and she was deliberately exploited by (Kila). She could not have anticipated she was in any danger," said Judge Gillane.
The court heard that Kila told the victim that he did not like her boyfriend. Later on the night, a photograph of Kila kissing the victim on the side of her face while she was asleep was sent to the victim's boyfriend via social media.
The victim’s boyfriend messaged the account back "We’re done", which also caused the victim further anxiety and trauma as she had been "completely oblivious" to the taking and sending of the photograph.
"It was a deliberate act of humiliation and is a highly aggravating factor in this case," said the judge.
When Kila, who was accompanied by a friend on the night, was leaving the apartment after raping and assaulting the woman, he grabbed her by the jaw and tried to forcefully kiss her.
"The kiss added insult to injury and reflects very badly on the accused," said the judge.
Judge Gillane said that Kila acted in a "deeply manipulative" way when he sent the victim a text message, the day after, asking if she was alright, that her wellbeing was important to him, and did she want to meet up for a chat.
'I got justice,' says woman in victim impact statement
Last week the victim faced Kila in court after the jury convicted him of both offences and told him: "I got justice."
Reading a victim impact statement in court, the woman addressed Kila: "To my rapist, I stood up and I am holding you accountable for your actions and I got justice."
"I hope to be an inspiration for any woman who has dealt with an incident like this and encourage them to stand up and hold their rapists accountable," she said.
The woman said that prior to the rape and assault she had been "excited" to be nursing at UHL, but that after the rape she "couldn't" return there.
She said she felt "physically sick" walking back into the hospital, where Kila continued working for a time.
"I feared for the patients of UHL, I knew that I had gotten out of the hospital but what about those who were left behind?"
The victim concluded: "I am a strong woman, I will heal from this, and I will be a stronger, more resilient version of myself. I will never let that man take that away from me."
In respect of the rape, the judge imposed a headline sentence of nine and a half years, reducing it to eight years.
Kila received a concurrent four-year sentence for the sexual assault, and was placed on a register for sex offenders.
