Gardaí investigating 2003 rape in Dublin believe they have strong evidence against accused

DNA evidence and witness statements may prove pivotal following long-awaited breakthrough

Tue Oct 27 2026 - 06:00 • 4 MIN READ

On the morning of Monday, March 31st, 2003, a woman answered the door of her house in south Dublin. A man purporting to work as a TV technician was standing on the doorstep.

He was in the area, he explained, to check after complaints had been made about poor picture quality. He wanted to go into the woman’s home as part of the checks and repair work required.

The woman was looking after a young child at the time and only allowed the man into the house after he showed her identification from a well-known satellite company. But once inside, it quickly became clear this man was not who he claimed.

Instead, he had forged his identification as a ruse to get into the house so he could attack the woman, gardaí said at the time.

Once inside, they said, the man bound his victim with plastic ties and threatened her with a knife. He is then alleged to have raped her.

After the attack, in what gardaí said was an attempt to destroy forensic evidence, he forced the woman to take a bath. He then left the house and told the woman not to move for at least five minutes after he was gone.

He said “cheerio” as he left.

Coverage in The Irish Times from the time noted the attack had left the victim deeply traumatised, though still able to aid the Garda investigation. This included giving them a detailed description of the man who allegedly raped her and the clothes he was wearing.

The attacker came to the house well prepared. As well as having false identification, he had cable ties in a plastic bag which he used during the incident.

He was described as wearing ill-fitting glasses, which were blue-framed and extremely large. Gardaí believe they may have been used as a disguise.

Officers were so concerned about the nature of the attack, and the degree of planning that seemed to have gone into it, that they launched an intensive investigation. They also issued a photo-fit of the suspect.

At the time, one of the senior detectives working on the case said gardaí were concerned the alleged rapist may strike again.

The first year of the investigation passed without any arrests, despite a huge amount of work being undertaken. On the one-year anniversary, gardaí once again appealed for information and circulated the photo-fit of the suspect to the media. It was included on the front page of The Irish Times on the day.

Despite all of the efforts, with more than 100 statements taken, the suspect was not caught and the unsolved case slipped from the headlines.

But 19 days ago, more than 23 years after the attack, an arrest was made. It was the first arrest in connection to the case.

An Garda Síochána says in 2023, a peer review of the original investigation was undertaken. Under a senior investigating officer, a fresh inquiry was commenced by the Serious Crime Unit at the Garda’s Dublin Metropolitan Region East.

The man was arrested on the morning of Wednesday, October 7th and detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act for questioning at a Dublin Garda station. The following day, it emerged the Director of Public Prosecutions had approved charges against him and he was brought before the courts.

He now faces four charges: two counts of rape, one count of false imprisonment and one count of aggravated burglary.

Nothing has been proven against him and a trial date has not yet been set.

The State now alleges this is the same individual who conned his way into the woman’s home in 2003 and subjected her to the alleged rape attack.

He appeared before Dublin District Court the day after he was arrested and again presented before the court on Monday, October 12th, when he applied for bail.

When an application for bail is made, the case for and against granting bail is made. During these exchanges, further details of Garda investigations often emerge.

Det Insp Trevor Scanlon told the bail hearing gardaí now believed the man recorded the 2003 attack. He added that they were trying to obtain the video footage.

He also said the attack on the woman involved a “horrific assault”, as well as rape. Scanlon added that videos allegedly linked to the arrested man, which were discovered recently by gardaí, depicted home break-ins, rapes and murders.

It also emerged that gardaí believe they have DNA evidence as well as witnesses who would, it was claimed, place the suspect at the door of the victim’s home. However, all of that evidence is yet to be tested.

When asked by Judge Anne Watkin why developments in the case were happening now, more than 23 years later, Scanlon told her gardaí had obtained criminal intelligence, though he declined to offer any further explanation.

Watkin denied bail, based on the seriousness of the charges and after the content of the videos allegedly linked to the suspect was set out in court.

The court heard the man was estranged from his wife and had family living overseas, but the judge said he had clear ties to Ireland. This includes owning a mortgage-free home.

“The charge is so significant and so serious. We are talking about life and death,” she said as she denied the bail application and remanded him in Cloverhill District Court in advance of a fresh hearing on November 10th.

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