Man (50) jailed for rape of his daughter's friend

Claire Henry

A man has been jailed for five years and two months for the rape of his daughter's friend at a house on the outskirts of Galway City.

Iosif Ghergut (50), formally of Caireal Mor, Headford Road, Galway, pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to one count of oral rape and one count of sexual assault at the same address on October 10th 2021, on a full facts basis.

He has no previous convictions.

The prosecution told the court that Jade MacFarlane wished to waive her anonymity and have Ghergut named.

Passing sentence on Thursday, Ms Justice Karen O’Connor outlined the following as aggravating factors in this case.

Ms MacFarlane was in the home of Ghergut, a place where she should have felt safe, he was someone she trusted, the age disparity of 27 years, that the injured party was unable to leave the bathroom and was told to “Shhhh” and “be quiet”. She also noted the impact this has had on Ms MacFarlane and the contents of her victim impact statement.

Ms Justice O’Connor said Ghergut “may not have entered the earliest of pleas, but it was still of value.” She noted Ghergut's lack of previous convictions and noted that he had not come to any adverse attention. She said he was a hard-working man and had provided for his family.

The judge said the probation report places Ghergut at low risk of reoffending and has acknowledged his guilt.

Ms Justice O’Connor sentenced Ghergut to eight and a half years on the count of oral rape, which she reduced to five years and eight months.

On the count of sexual assault, she sentenced him to six years in prison and reduced this to four years, with both sentences to run concurrently.

She then suspended the last six months of the five-year and 8 months sentence and backdated it to when he went into custody. She also placed Ghergut under the supervision of the Probation Services for 12 months post-release.

At a previous hearing, Detective Garda Adrian Fehily told Mark Lynam SC, prosecuting, that the offending took place at Ghergut’s home on the night of his own daughter’s birthday. Ms MacFarlane and his daughter were friends and had been out socialising with each other before returning to the house. Gherut was present, and they all continued to have drinks and play games. At approximately 4 am, people began to leave the party or go to bed.

The court heard that Ghergut and Ms MacFarlane returned to the kitchen after having a cigarette outside. In the kitchen, Ghergut put his hands down the back of her jeans. He then put his hand on her breast and tried to kiss her. Ms MacFarlane pushed him away, and her next memory is of being in the bathroom with Ghergut, with the door locked. Here, Ghergut digitally penetrated the girl, attempted to rape her and orally raped her.

Det Gda Fehily said Ghergut’s partner then began to bang on the bathroom door, and when the door was opened, there was a commotion between the couple. The girl was distraught, and the gardai were called. She was taken to a local sexual assault treatment unit, where she was reported to have bruises and cuts. DNA swabs were taken from the girl's cheek and a piece of jewellery which, upon analysis, matched Ghergut’s DNA.

The court heard Ghergut was arrested but was unfit to be questioned. When he was fit to be questioned, he said he did not have sex with the girl but agreed that they had been kissing and had engaged in oral sex, all of which he said was consensual.

Det Gda Fehily agreed with Seamus Clarke SC, defending, that discussions took place and a plea was entered, and even though the plea was late in the day, it was of comfort to the injured party.

The garda agreed with counsel that his client has no previous convictions, and that he cooperated at the scene and was always available to the gardai and presented when required to do so.

Mr Clarke said that he has been instructed to inform the court that Ghergut is “utterly ashamed for what he has done, and that he has done this to someone who was his daughter's friend”.

Counsel said he has a good work history and has informed his employer, but he is unsure if his job will be available to him upon his release from prison. He said that his family are shocked and disgusted at what he did and how he behaved.

He said that a probation report before the court places his client at low risk of sexual reoffending.

He asked the court to take into account Ghergut’s expression of remorse, his shame and his apology to Ms MacFarlane.

He asked the court to consider suspending some part of the sentence so that his client can engage with the Probation Services and asked the court to be as lenient as possible.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help.