91Èȱ¬

A man who raped a heavily intoxicated and vulnerable woman has been jailed for three years.

Ahmad Alsbaihi, of Ard Na Va Road, in west Belfast, pleaded guilty to a single count of rape.

The 22-year-old was told he would spend a further three years on supervised licence on his release from prison.

Belfast Crown Court heard the incident happened on 22 June 2022 after Alsbaihi and another man met the woman at a nightclub.

They then invited her back to a house for a party.

A prosecution barrister said a witness saw the two men with the woman and had "concerns about her vulnerability through her intoxication''.

The witness said she asked the victim if she knew the men and she replied that she did not.

The witness decided to accompany the woman to the party, and on the way the men stopped the taxi to collect a bottle of vodka.

At about 05:00 BST, the witness said she came out of a bedroom and saw Alsbaihi "having sex'' with the victim, "whose eyes were closed and she was completely asleep''.

The court was told that following the rape, the two men redressed the victim and removed her from the living room floor and put her on the sofa.

When the witness confronted Alsbaihi, who came to Northern Ireland from Syria as a refugee, he claimed the victim had consented to sex when she was awake before falling asleep.

Police and an ambulance were called and, while being tended to by paramedics, the victim woke up but had no idea what had happened to her.

The defendant was subsequently arrested by police, but denied raping the woman and said she had consented to sex.

The court heard the victim's blood initially gave a reading of 178mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood, however, a back count suggested a reading of between 315 and 525mg of alcohol with an average of 425mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood.

In a statement to the court, the victim described the effects the rape had on her physically, her relationships, the trauma she had endured and the ongoing fear she felt.

In a pre-sentence report, Alsbaihi told a probation officer he felt "disgusted'' at what he had done and the victim had not consented to having sexual intercourse with him.

A defence barrister said Alsbaihi, who had no previous criminal record, had now expressed his remorse and regret over the rape.

He said the defendant presented as an immature male who was 20 at the time of the rape.

The barrister added Alsbaihi had arrived in Northern Ireland in 2017 with his mother and brother after fleeing war-ravaged Syria via Jordan and had "suffered poor mental health before his offending over a number of years''.

Passing sentence, Judge Mark McGarrity said it must have been "obvious to the defendant given the victim's intoxication that she was entirely helpless and defenceless".

"The evidence reveals that she was so incapacitated that she had no awareness of what had been inflicted upon her," he added.

"She was, I consider, highly vulnerable to the defendant's deplorable actions.

"He nonetheless displayed a callous and wicked disregard for her."

The judge added that he applauded the woman's bravery and he believed "this attack has had a profound effect upon her".

"I also applaud the resilience of the witness.

"She deserves praise for playing her part in making sure the victim in this case got justice.''