A judge has said he might suspend a portion of a convicted rapist’s sentence if he agrees to leave Ireland when he’s released.
Faisal Ellahi, who is from Haripur in Pakistan, was living in Dublin for eight years when he raped a woman with Down syndrome in June 2013.
During his effort to mitigate the sentence for Faisal Ellahi, defence counsel Padraig Dwyer told Mr. Justice Tony Hunt there was no way of knowing if the effect on his victim is worse because of her disability.
The judge disagreed and said it was clear her life had been “upended in the most radical way”.
In constructing an appropriate sentence, he’ll have to try and figure out where the crime fits on the scale of seriousness before applying the aggravating and mitigating factors.
Mr. Dwyer believes it is somewhere in the middle and said his client’s otherwise clean record, good work ethic should be taken into account as well as the lack of violence.
Mr. Justice Hunt said he didn’t have a “punishment fetish” and would consider suspending some of his sentence if he took a bond and clears off when his time is up.
In court today, counsel for Faisal Ellahi told the judge he believes the circumstances of the crime do not warrant a significant jail term.
Faisal Ellahi, who is from Pakistan and was living in Dublin at the time, is awaiting sentence after a jury convicted him of raping her in his apartment in June 2013.
Mr Ellahi raped the woman after luring her back to his flat after she became separated from her mother while out for a jog.
He was convicted just before Christmas, and during his sentence hearing today, his barrister referred to a review of sentencing in rape cases.
The court heard the most significant ones were handed down for “savage” cases and involved violence, multiple offences and threats to kill.
Those who carried out rapes considered to be in the median range of seriousness were jailed for between five and seven years and he believes Mr Ellahi’s case fits into this bracket.
Mr Justice Tony Hunt accepted this rape was a single event but said the effect on his victim has been horrendous. He also said he would have to take into account certain aspersions made about the woman during Mr Ellahi’s evidence.
A dispute arose over his IQ level and the court adjourned sentencing until next month to allow for a report to be compiled.
