Man raped his elderly mum on Mother's Day

An Irish man who claimed his 65-year-old mother agreed to sex with him on Mother's Day has been found guilty of raping her. The 45-year-old Dublin man had pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to raping the woman at her home in March 2008. During three days of evidence, the court heard that the man admitted having sex with his mother on the evening of Mother's Day but claimed it was consensual.

The court heard the woman, who lives alone, was taking a number of medications for a medical condition, including a strong painkiller. On Mother's Day she went to a social event during which she drank three "small bottles" of wine and ate a four-course meal. She was in bed when her son rang the doorbell at 11pm. He asked her to come downstairs to have a drink with her because it was still Mother's Day. She said her son poured vodka drinks and put on a Joe Dolan CD.



She said her son asked her to dance and she did but then sat down again. The victim said she must have blacked out then because she doesn't know how she ended up on the floor, having sex with her son. Giollaiosa O Lideadha, defending, put it to the woman that the combination of alcohol, medication and a "very complicated history between you and (the accused)" caused confusion in her mind.

The accused told the court his mother began kissing him on the mouth and continued to do so while they had sex. Mr Justice Barry White said it was not often a jury had to encounter a trial as "distasteful and sordid" as this one and excused the jurors from further service for life. He remanded the man in continuing custody for sentencing on October 1 and ordered that he be registered as a sex offender.