‘Monster left me sad, suicidal, depressed and scared’ – victim
A WOMAN who was raped by convicted sex offender Patrick Nevin has described it as “the worst night of her life”.
She said Nevin had left her “so broken and afraid”, and she was scared she “could be raped again”.
The woman, who was in her 20s at the time of the assault, said she was on Tinder because she hoped to meet a potential boyfriend.
“I wasn’t aware I’d be meeting up with a monster. He has put my life on hold for nearly four years,” she said.
In a victim-impact statement which she read to the court, the woman said Nevin had taken part of her away and had made her feel “tainted, dirty and stupid for meeting up with him in the first place”.
“He said ‘OK’ when I messaged saying I wasn’t looking for sex, a one-night stand or anything like that. He 100pc abused that trust and just used me like a piece of dirt.”
Nevin had “taken [her name] away that night and left me with just a shell”, she said.
To say she was terrified that night was an understatement, shetoldthecourt.
The rape had also affected her ability to be a “confident, happy, outgoing mother”.
“Instead, my son has had to deal with a sad, scared, suicidal and depressed mother which he didn’t deserve,” she said.
Furthermore, she was terrified in her home because he knew where she lived.
“I was very concerned he would do something to me, my son, my car, or my home”, she said.
“I was even convinced he would get a friend to slash my tyres, or attack or stalk me for payback for reporting what he had done to gardaí.”
She said she had changed physically and mentally and at times had stopped eating for days.
“I once told my counsellor that in a way I felt sorry for him and what must he have been through in life to make him turn out the way he did.
“I’ve always had empathy for people but he does not deserve any of it. He made the choices he did, despite the many ‘nos’ I said and ‘stops’.”
A victim-impact statement on behalf of the woman sexually assaulted was also handed into court.
She did not want it read aloud and did not attend court.
‘He made me feel tainted, dirty and stupid for meeting him in the first place’
However, in her evidence, Sergeant Selina Proudfoot said the sexual assault had been “life-altering” for the victim, who had suffered severe anxiety afterwards.
As Nevin had collected her, he knew where she lived, so she was anxious and terrified he’d turn up at her home, the sergeant said.
The court heard Nevin was working as a software engineer at the time of these offences.
He had previous convictions, the court was told.
Sergeant Mark Buckley said Nevin previously received a seven-year sentence for a serious assault on his then-partner, in which he attacked her and killed their two dogs.
Defence lawyer Patrick McGrath SC asked Judge Eileen Creedon to take into account Nevin’s guilty pleas, which avoided the victims having to give evidence.