Donegal man jailed at Derry Crown Court for raping friend while she slept

A Donegal man has been jailed at Derry Crown Court on a charge of raping a friend who was staying in his house when she was asleep.

Stephen McElhinney, 26, of Carrowreagh, Bridgend in County Donegal admitted one charge of rape that occurred on October 5, 2022.

Before passing sentence Judge Neil Rafferty KC paid tribute to the victim for coming forward and said the defendant's plea of guilty was "the gold standard of vindication for you as a victim".

Outlining the facts in the case the judge said that on October 5, 2022 the victim had contacted police to say she had been raped by a friend.  The court heard that the defendant and the victim and others had been socialising together. 

Donegal man in court after crashing car in village with men on roof and bonnet

A Judge has reserved his position after it was revealed that the man - who drove around a Donegal village with one man on the car roof and another on the bonnet - has had a subsequent conviction for dangerous driving and drink-driving

The judge said that victim, another person and McElhinney went back to his flat to continue drinking and it was decided that the victim would stay the night there as 'she had done before'.

The judge stressed that the defendant and the victim were not, nor had ever been in a relationship.

The court heard that the woman went to bed and sometime later woke up to the defendant being on top of her raping her after her clothing had been removed.  The woman pushed McElhinney off and grabbed her things and ran from the house. 

As she left McElhinney texted her "bye". The court heard that the victim's underwear was found in the defendant's home. 

The judge said that there were two aggravating factors in the case one being the fact the victim had been sleeping and secondly that the perpetrator had been her friend. 

He said that friendship meant the woman felt safe to go to sleep as he was her friend. 

Judge Rafferty said that the defendant had issues with alcohol over the years and this had led to 'friction' with his parents.

He also said that McElhinney had mental health issues and in fact had only been released from Grangewood the day before this offence.

McElhinney was jailed for four years with half to be spent in custody and half on licence. 

He also has to sign the sex offender's register for an indefinite period and is subjected to a Sexual Offences Prevention Order for a period of seven years.