A Dublin group that helps victims of sex assault has seen an increase in calls to its phoneline in the wake of a gang rape case, it emerged yesterday.
It came a day after five thugs were jailed for a total of 66 years for the shocking rape and sexual assault of a teenage girl in the Midlands five years ago.
A spokesperson for the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre confirmed there had been an increase in calls, even though the sentencing was only on Thursday.
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She said: “The line has had calls specifically referencing the case and seeking crisis support, not in huge numbers but noticeable nonetheless.
“There have been warm wishes from callers for the young woman in the case also.”
The entire country was left in shock at the horrific ordeal suffered by the then 17-year-old victim when she was raped and sexually assaulted by the men in a car in the Midlands on December 27, 2016.
Marcos Vinicius De Silva Umbelino, Eduardo Dias Ferreira Filho, Gabriel Gomes Da Rocha, Conor Byrne and Ethan Nikolaou were all jailed for between 10 and 20 years by Ms Justice Tara Burns at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Dublin on Thursday for the brutal attack.
Ms Justice Burns told the court the nature of the rapes, which were one after the other and in front of others who had or would rape the victim, was “degradation of the most extreme level”.
Meanwhile, brave rape victim Lavinia Kerwick yesterday came out in support of the woman the thugs terrorised and told her she was extraordinary.
There was national outrage in 1993 when Lavinia went on RTE 2FM’s Gerry Ryan show in protest as the man who raped her two years earlier when she was just 19 walked out of court with a suspended sentence.
That was the first time a rape victim had come forward to talk about their ordeal and Ms Kerwick went on RTE again yesterday to support the victim in the Midlands case.
She told Radio 1’s Drivetime that the ordeal the young woman suffered was now part of her but she hoped it was not all of her.
She said: “That is an important message I would like to give her.
“She is an extraordinary young lady, she is much more than this.
“This is with her for the rest of her life but she is only starting to be on the way to healing now.
“It is going to be part of her for the rest of her life. But I hope she knows the amount of support and love and goodwill we have for her.”
Ms Kerwick added she was struck by how Justice Burns personally addressed the victim in court, telling her from the bench: “You are an absolutely amazing young woman.”
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