Man jailed for eight years for rape and coercive control of wife

Kathleen Correia, aged 41, waived her legal right to anonymity to allow him to be named. Reading a victim impact to the court, she said: “The worst violation a husband can commit against his wife is to rape, abuse, objectify, and degrade her. 

"It’s a breach of trust and respect that has had severe implications and long-lasting emotional scars.

"I have not been able to engage in an intimate relationship, and I don’t know if I ever will without feeling afraid, traumatised, and fragile.”

The court heard the couple met when Kathleen was on holiday in Portugal in 2006, and they later moved to Ireland.

Detective Garda Paula Griffin told Mr Garnet Orange SC, prosecuting, that the couple married in 2012.

In 2018, a decision was made to return to Portugal but they had difficulties there and returned to Ireland. The court heard that it was in the nine-month period after returning to Ireland that the offending took place.

'Got away last night'

Sergio was extremely frustrated and moody, and she felt like she was walking on eggshells, the court was told. She lived with the dread of intercourse. 

If there was one night when they did not have intercourse, he would say she “got away last night”.

The court heard she lived in constant fear and had a mental breakdown. She lost 20kg and was sent to adult mental health services.

The offences took place between January and December 2019.

They attended a concert in Dublin in July 2019 for Sergio’s birthday. Prior to them going to Dublin, he requested they would have anal sex. She did not want to participate and had made it quite clear.

The first night, the couple had vaginal sex but the second night he started pleading for anal sex, the court heard. She begged him not to, but he flipped her over the bed and penetrated her. She repeatedly told him that it was sore and asked him to stop, but he did not.

The court heard he was convicted of a second count of anal rape in the family home when, again, he was pleading for anal sex, but she repeatedly told him not to.

He was arrested in February 2022 and interviewed at length, but when specific allegations were put to him he agreed he could not say when Kathleen consented to anal sex.

This persisted in each of the allegations that were put to him, the court was told.

Det Gda Griffin told the court he had no previous convictions. The trial commenced on May 24 and ended on June 10.

Ciaran O’Loughlin SC, defending, said there was a large amount of drugs and alcohol affecting Sergio’s behaviour at the time of the incident at the hotel.

'A very fulsome apology'

Mr McLoughlin told the court there was a letter from him in which there was “a very fulsome apology”.

Ms Justice Melanie Greally imposed a nine-and-a-half year sentence on each of the two counts of rape and suspended the final 18 months of it.

She also imposed a two-and-a-half year sentence to run concurrently on the count of coercive control, backdating it for time spent in custody. She ordered he undergo the post-release supervision of the probation services and be assessed for domestic abuse and sexual abuse programmes.

The judge also ordered that he attend an addiction counsellor and have no contact with the victim.