Rape survivor Bláthnaid Raleigh backs Natasha O’Brien and urges men to ‘call out peers’ over violence against women

Ms Raleigh (26) was speaking after a judge imposed an eight-year jail term on her rapist, Jonathan Moran.

Moran (26) was jailed yesterday after he was found guilty of raping Ms Raleigh with a bottle in a garden shed in 2019.

Ms Raleigh, who waived her right to anonymity, described the sentence, handed down at the Central Criminal Court by Mr Justice Tony Hunt, as one she was happy with.

“I think it’s a strong sentence,” she said. “It sends a strong message and the judge was very definite with his thoughts, which is important to me. Somebody else recognises how bad this was. I am happy with the sentence.”

Moran, of Tower View, Mullingar, Co Westmeath, denied what he had done but was found guilty by a jury.

Ms Raleigh said she believed the sentence handed to Moran sent out a “strong message” that was in stark contrast to Ms O’Brien’s case, in which her attacker Cathal Crotty, a serving member of the Defence Forces who pleaded guilty to beating her on a Limerick street, walked free.

“I am conscious that there has been a lot of emphasis on sentencing lately because of Natasha’s horrific case,” she said yesterday.

“Ahead of today, I did wonder what might happen in my case. I think Justice Tony Hunt sent a very clear message about sexual violence against women and I am happy with that.

“I think Natasha’s case is horrific. Imagine going through all of that and not getting any justice? He admits to it and there is still nothing. It sends the wrong message.”

Ms Raleigh said she had received a huge amount of support after she waived her right to anonymity, but that there was relative silence from younger men.

“I have noticed in the fallout of Natasha O’Brien’s case and my own case is that there is a demographic of men, young men, who don’t want to speak out against their peers,” she said.

“I have so many messages of support from people but 95pc of them are from women and the rest are older men. That’s wrong.

“I also think there is a misconception that the perpetrators in sexual violence cases are older men. They aren’t. They are young guys in our friendship circles.”

Moran was convicted by a Central Criminal Court jury in April of section four rape of Ms Raleigh and aggravated sexual assault in a garden shed in Galway on July 21, 2019.

Ms Raleigh was left with extensive physical injuries that required months of treatment in a sexual assault treatment unit.

“It was important for me that his name is now out there and people will know what he did,” Ms Raleigh said.

“The sentence is important, but people knowing what he had tried to keep hidden for all these years was equally important to me. He carried on his life as normal. Meanwhile, my life was turned upside down.”

It is understood Moran, who played with Mullingar Rugby Club for over a decade, kept the incident, his arrest, charge and conviction, secret from his teammates and club for five years. The club expelled him last week after he was named in the press.

“I am relieved with the sentence,” Ms Raleigh said. “It takes away that immediate fear of him, of running into him. On refection, there was something to be afraid of. I did have every right to fear him even afterwards. That immediate fear is gone and I don’t have a trial hanging over me.

“During this trial I thought, ‘Why did I do this?’ Today I feel like this was worth it. I know this isn’t always the case for other women. I know they will be looking at this and maybe thinking, ‘Why did she get it and not me?’ I just hope this gives someone a bit of comfort.”

Sentencing Moran, Mr Justice Hunt said it was very important that “people who are engaging or considering engaging in sexual activity bear in mind the importance of consent”.

He set a headline sentence of 10 years, noting that the aggravating features included Ms Raleigh’s physical injuries and the abuse of trust in the case.

He acknowledged Moran’s “late recognition” of the jury’s verdict, his lack of previous convictions and his good employment record before he reduced the sentence to nine years. Mr Justice Hunt then suspended the final year of that nine-year term on strict conditions.