Statement on Donal Lehane
Following a trial in December 2015 Donal Lehane was found guilty of witness intimidation. The victim in this case was a woman who had met Lehane whilst working as an escort. In March 2010 the victim had reported to the Gardaí that an unknown man (later identified as Lehane) had raped and sexually assaulted her. Following this Lehane began threatening her. Although she did not know his identity at that time, he knew hers and he played on the stigma of sex work, threatening to expose her as a prostitute if she would not withdraw the rape and sexual assault complaint.
The impact Lehane’s threats had on the victim were devastating. Her victim impact statement stated “This crime has had a huge impact on my life and that of my family. I was left alone, terrified with no support. Each time my phone rang or I received an e-mail, I immediately thought it was Donal Lehane attempting to intimidate me. He knew where I lived and said he was going to expose all, that it went into my family and friends. I was in constant fear of what would happen next and didn’t know who I could turn to. As I said previously, Donal Lehane knew where I lived and I didn’t know what he would do next to get me to withdraw my statement. I installed CCTV at my house because I was so afraid. I really couldn’t cope with the constant looking over my shoulder and for the welfare of my family I moved out of home. This crime has resulted in me having to upend my family and move to another part of the country so I can feel safe. I now live a large distance away from my family and friends and this isolation and distance is one of the major life changes for me and my family.”
In January 2016 Donal Lehane was sentenced to 3 years with 18 months suspended for two counts of witness intimidation. This was a sentence UglyMugs.ie felt was too lenient and not reflective of the gravity of harm he caused the victim. Then last month his sentence was reduced on appeal to just 18 months with 9 months suspended.
Also, to date, the media has declined to name Donal Lehane, citing legal reasons preventing them doing so. However, the recent Court of Appeal Judgement is now publicly available on the Courts Service website and clearly names Donal Lehane. Still the media has not named Donal Lehane, but UglyMugs.ie believes he can and should be named. His name is Donal Lehane.
