Carlow man gets jail for attack and rape

A 34 year old man has been jailed for 18 years for what a judge described as a devastating physical attack and rape on a woman in her 50s in Carlow.

Anthony Cassidy from Tinryland in Carlow initially denied attacking her as she walked to a shop on June 25th last year but was linked to the crime through DNA evidence. The court heard he raped her and savagely beat her before dumping her body which was found by a passerby. In her victim impact statement the woman says she suffers from night terrors and is haunted by her attacker when she closes her eyes. Mr. J Patrick McCarthy said he would have imposed a life sentence if it wasn't for his guilty plea and apparent remorse