A 33-year-old man has been jailed for nine years for the attempted rape of a 24-year-old woman in Galway last year.
A 33-year-old man has been jailed for nine years for the attempted rape of a 24-year-old woman in Galway last year.
Russell Murray of Clydagh, Moycullen, had equipped himself with a 'rape kit' before attacking a young Polish woman who was on her way to work in the early hours of the morning in April 2009.
She managed to fight him off. He was later arrested and told gardaí he was waiting for the first victim to come his way.
Mr Justice Paul Carney said it was at the upper end of the scale for such offences.
He imposed a 12-year sentence with the final three suspended and ordered that he be supervised for eight years after his release.
He also imposed a five-year concurrent sentence for assault.
The judge said he was taking into account the inherently grave nature of the offence, the effect on the victim as outlined in a victim impact statement, his admitted intention of raping the first person who happened along and the fact that he had equipped himself with a 'rape kit'.
In his favour he took into account the guilty plea at the first opportunity, the lack of previous convictions and the admissions he made in garda interviews.
He said Murray's dysfunctional background afforded little if any mitigation.
Earlier this week the Central Criminal Court heard that after his arrest he was found with a camera memory card on which footage of several women was found.
It appeared he had been filming women in pubs and nightclubs and on the street.
Some of the footage was taken under women's skirts.
Russell Murray was arrested after an attack on a 24-year-old Polish woman at a Galway housing estate in April 2009.
She was grabbed from behind in the early hours of the morning while on her way to work.
However, she managed to fight off her attacker and remove his balaclava, and he then fled the scene.
Gardaí initially believed it was a robbery. However, they later found a rucksack containing pre-cut duct tape, a dog lead, cord, vaseline and a wooden saw handle.
Murray became a suspect when he came to collect his van from the scene. Similar duct tape was found in the van.
He later admitted he had planned to rob and rape 'the first victim who came along'.
Prosecuting counsel said he was ambiguous when asked what he intended to do with his victim after the attack.
He said he planned to use the tape, rope and dog lead to tie them up.
He said he panicked when the woman started to scream and knew what he was doing was wrong.
He told gardaí his life was a mess, and he had recurring fantasies about women and strong sexual urges.
He was on medication but said it may not have been working.
Often he was afraid to go out in case he would 'kick up' if he saw a girl.
When asked if he planned to kill his victim he said: 'No, I don't know. It wasn't in my mind to harm but it's hard to say. She was in a situation and I was in a situation.'
Defence Counsel Michael O Higgins objected to the inclusion of evidence about the camera memory card.
He said the prosecution had not interviewed Russell Murray about it and it was 'grossly prejudicial and poisonous' to introduce such extraneous matters.
Mr Justice Paul Carney said he would exclude this evidence when considering sentence.
Mr O Higgins said the crime was opportunistic and random.
While it was a planned attack, it was not very well planned. It had been nipped in the bud due to the incredible bravery of his victim, he said.
Mr O Higgins said the accused had been in care and homeless throughout his teenage years.
Despite this he had not fallen into a life of drugs and crime, like many others in his situation had. He said he had taken many courses and had been in regular employment.
He was a security guard in a number of establishments and had opened his own bike shop at one point
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