Brion Hoban
A man who attacked and raped a woman in her home after meeting her on Tinder will be sentenced next month.
During the attack Peter Loughlin (36) banged the woman's head off of the floor and slapped her in the face when she started praying out loud. At one point he began filming her with his phone and slapped her in the face when she tried to cover her face with her hair.
Loughlin of Glasnevin Downs, Ballygall, Dublin, pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to rape and oral rape at an address in Dublin on January 5th, 2018. He has four previous convictions, including convictions for possession of drugs, drink driving and public order offences.
Garda Catherine Byrne told Vincent Heneghan SC, prosecuting, that a week or two before the incident, the victim had met Loughlin on Tinder and they struck up a conversation.
They later met at her apartment in the city and were kissing when Loughlin became aggressive and said he would massage the woman's back. He turned her around and during the massage Loughlin put his hand under her top and grabbed her breast.
The victim got “scared” and told the man it was time for him to go.
Attack
Loughlin asked for water and followed her into the kitchen where she said he should leave. He said it was cold and asked if he could go to her bedroom, so he could get warm as it was the only room with a heater and she replied he could get warm before leaving.
In the bedroom Loughlin took off the victim's clothes “very aggressively”. He raped the victim while not wearing a condom. He also bit the woman's breasts.
At one point he started to film her with his phone and slapped her in the face when she tried to cover her face with her hair. She started screaming, and he hit her head off of the floor three times.
At another stage he stopped touching her for a while, and she started praying out loud. He told her to stop and slapped her in the face.
The victim believed that the incident would “go on for days” and started trying to “negotiate” with the man. She said she had a boyfriend who would soon arrive and a flatmate who was moving in the next morning, but Loughlin did not believe either of her claims.
Negotiate
She tried to calm him down and reminded him of his family who he had mentioned in conversation earlier. He became calmer and said he would go if she gave him oral sex, which she did. Loughlin “praised” her and said he would now “f*** her ass”, causing her to panic and start kicking and punching.
The incident came to an end when Loughlin allowed the victim to go to the bathroom, but came with her and refused to leave.
While in the bathroom the victim pretended to vomit, tried to force herself to vomit and told him she was insulin dependent.
The victim pretended to faint and told Loughlin that she would die unless she went to a hospital. He started to panic, put his clothes on and said he would take her to hospital.
Escape
As they left the apartment the victim pretended to collapse and Loughlin told her to wait, and he would go get his car. Once he had left her flat she went inside, locked the door and immediately called gardaí.
The victim was brought to hospital by gardaí, where she was examined and found to have bruising on numerous parts of her body and genitalia.
In interview with gardaí following his arrest, Loughlin denied the offences and said that “90 per cent of what she said was not true”. He said that what sexual contact there had been was consensual and he denied violently attacking her.
Gda Byrne agreed with James Dwyer SC, defending, that his client told gardaí he had grown up in Monaghan. She agreed his client had agreed to go into custody of his own volition after pleading guilty in October 2020.
Justice Paul McDermott adjourned the case to April 30th, next, when victim impact evidence and the plea in mitigation will be heard.
