The man who raped the young girl after meeting her for the first time and persuaded her to stay at his house for the night was sentenced to 4 years in prison.

Shane McGovern, 31, saw the boy, then 18, having an argument outside the pub when he approached him. He then offered her a place to stay.

The victim went to McGovern’s home, where it was decided they would share a bed. She went to bed fully clothed, but awoke a short time later to find McGovern raping her. He pretended to be asleep, but after a while, he pretended to wake up.

He said he had to go home and since it was a cold night, McGovern gave him a sweater. The teenager immediately reported the rape to gardaí.

McGovern, of Mullaghmatt, Monaghan, pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to a charge of anal rape at his home on May 20, 2022.

In a victim impact statement read into the record by Eilis Brennan SC, prosecuting, the victim said of the rape: “I wanted to lock myself in a room and never come out again.”

He said he suffered from anxiety arising from his “traumatic experience” both at the Garda station and in hospital. He said he could no longer stay at friends’ houses and had not slept properly since the incident. He also has difficulty trusting his friends.

Sentencing McGovern on Monday, Mr Justice Paul McDermott said the victim had shown “considerable courage” in reporting the incident.

He said he hopes the young man will seek help and guidance regarding what happened to him.

Judge McDermott handed McGovern a prison sentence of seven years and six months, which he headlined said provided “significant mitigation” before taking into account the early admission in the case.

He then sentenced McGovern to five years’ imprisonment, suspending the final 12 months of the sentence on condition that he serve in the Probation Service for two years and undertake programs deemed necessary.