Defence Forces member jailed for rape of fellow soldier

A member of the Irish Defence Forces who “spurned the consensual offer that was made to him in a selfish, arrogant and forceful way” has been jailed for eight and half years for the rape of a fellow soldier at a Dublin hotel three years ago.

Kielan Mooney (30) of Bloomfield Park, Derry, was convicted following a trial at the Central Criminal Court last December on a count of anal rape, oral rape and rape of the woman at the Dublin hotel on July 26th 2021.

He had pleaded not guilty to a total of six charges – two charges of rape, two charges of oral rape, a charge of anal rape and a charge of sexual assault.

The jury failed to reach a verdict on the three remaining charges.

The now 24-year-old woman, who is also a serving soldier of the Irish Defence Forces, has indicated that while she is content for Mooney to be named in the reporting of the case, she does not wish to be identified.

Sentencing Mooney on Monday, Mr Justice Tony Hunt said Mooney “spurned the consensual offer…