Rapist who targeted drunk woman fails to have 19-year sentence reduced

Eoin Reynolds

A rapist who targeted a drunk woman on a public street, tricked her into his car and drove her to an isolated area where he 'brutally' raped her has failed in a bid to have his 19-year sentence reduced.

Liviu Tenea (42) has a previous conviction for a similar sexual assault in Spain in 2006 but was repatriated to Romania in 2010 and released in 2015.

He came to live at Academy Square in Navan, Co Meath and on March 20, 2022 he committed two counts of aggravated sexual assault on a woman at a location in Leinster.

Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy at the three-judge appeal court today said Tenea has shown a lack of sympathy for his victim or insight into the harm he caused. He had claimed the attack was 'out of character', which Ms Justice Kennedy said was 'clearly not the case', given his previous conviction in Spain.

She said the offence was planned and carefully executed and of the most serious kind. Tenea saw the victim as an "easy target" because she was intoxicated and on her own, the judge said. He watched and followed her before he "tricked her into his car", drove to an isolated location and carried out two aggressive rapes while his victim screamed throughout.

The harm suffered by the victim was "extreme", Ms Justice Kennedy said, and the sentence arrived at by Central Criminal Court judge Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring was not an error in principle.

While Tenea's guilty plea was of value, Ms Justice Kennedy said it did not attract the same mitigation as it might in other circumstances because of the strength of the evidence against Tenea. She said his lack of remorse or insight and refusal to discuss the reason for his offending with a probation officer meant that there was no requirement for the judge to suspend any part of the sentence.

Imposing sentence in October 2023, Ms Justice Ring said the “brutal” sexual assaults carried out by Tenea in an isolated area after she got into what she believed to be a taxi was “every woman's nightmare”.

She said Tenea then left the scene, leaving the victim to find assistance herself.

Ms Justice Ring said the woman had “done nothing wrong” and “did what many women around the country do every night - trust what they believe to be a legitimate taxi will deliver them home safe”.

She said it was an aggravating factor that Tenea has a previous conviction for sexual assault, noting that the 20-year sentence imposed by a Spanish court “signifies a serious crime”.

She noted Tenea's guilty plea, but said she “can't overlook” his initial attempts to blame the victim by telling gardai that she had propositioned him.

Shie imposed a sentence of 19 years, backdated to the date he entered custody on March 29, 2022. She also ordered Tenea to undergo 10 years of post-release supervision.

A prosecuting garda gave evidence that the complainant was on her way home from a night out and was attempting to hail a taxi. When a car pulled up, she assumed with relief it was a taxi and got in.

She became aware the car was going in the wrong direction and said it to the driver, who told her he was going to take her home. The woman said she froze as she began to realize she was “in trouble.”

Tenea drove to a secluded location and got out of the car. He pulled her from the passenger seat as she pleaded with him: “Please don’t do this.” He then threw her onto the bonnet of the car and penetrated her with his penis vaginally and anally.

The woman said he was very rough and violent and she could not fight back as she was pinned against the bonnet. She described screaming with the pain, crying and being unable to stop what was happening.