Criminal ‘raped woman while he was on the run’

A CRIMINAL who was on the run when he allegedly committed a ‘brutal’ rape of a woman has been arrested in his jail cell over the attack.

The Irish Daily Mail can reveal the career criminal absconded in June when making a court appearance at Cloverhill over a theft offence.

The suspect managed to run from the Dublin courthouse and remained on the run for 13 days.

Gardaí were immediately notified and the criminal, who is

‘A particularly brutal attack’

currently facing two criminal trials in relation to separate matters, was eventually recaptured.

However, in the 13 days when he was on the run, the criminal allegedly violently raped a woman, who is known to him, at her apartment on the southside of Dublin city.

The woman was ‘so terrified’ of the criminal that she scaled the balcony of the apartment and ‘took a severe drop’ in order to escape him, it is claimed.

Luckily, neighbours heard her screams and managed to help her as she fell onto a balcony two floors below. A major investigation was launched by detectives at Kevin Street Garda Station.

Gardaí formed the opinion the rape claim was credible.

Based on witness statements and medical evidence, the suspect, who is from a south Dublin suburb, was arrested within the past two weeks in his cell, sources said.

Officers questioned the suspect, aged in his 30s, at a Dublin Garda station within the past fortnight. After several hours of questioning, he was returned to Dublin’s Cloverhill Prison.

Investigating detectives are now preparing a file for the DPP. It is understood gardaí are recommending that the suspect be charged, based on the evidence. A senior source said: ‘It was a particularly brutal rape.

‘The victim ended up essentially jumping off the balcony to get away from him. She was known to him; it was a dangerous attack that has left that woman forever affected.’

It is alleged the woman was threatened at knifepoint before the rape at an apartment on Cork Street in Dublin on June 18. Seven days later, gardaí located the on-the-run criminal and returned him to jail.

The victim suffered extensive injuries to her ribs during the attack as a consequence of a beating. She was ‘petrified beyond words’ when she went over her balcony and sources said she was lucky that her neighbours were able to help her in the immediate aftermath.

She provided gardaí with a full statement of complaint and was brought to the Sexual Assault Treatment Unit at the Rotunda Hospital, as is protocol. A separate internal investigation was launched by the Irish Prison Service, to determine the exact circumstances surrounding his escape from the secure facility.

The suspect is well known to gardaí and was previously shot, sustaining serious injuries. A close relative of his was murdered and had close links to serious organised criminality.