Two men have been sentenced to six years each for the rape of a 19-year-old woman in Dungannon. Luis Martins Dos Mariano and Alcino Soares, both from East Timor, carried out the attack in an underground car park at 10 Sloan Street on 9 September 2023. CCTV footage showed the victim being carried into the car park and raped by each defendant in turn.

The victim had been drinking in Hagans Bar earlier that evening and was waiting for a friend outside a fast-food shop when she was approached by the two men. She was severely intoxicated and her recollection of events is limited, but she recalled being taken to an alleyway and later a car park, where she was raped. The CCTV evidence confirmed the ordeal lasted for a significant period and that both defendants participated.

Mariano pleaded guilty to two counts of rape on 5 March 2025. Soares initially pleaded not guilty but later pleaded guilty to sexual assault by penetration and rape on 6 October 2025. Both defendants claimed the encounter was consensual, but their accounts were contradicted by the CCTV evidence. The victim was described as practically unconscious during the attack.

In his judgment, His Honour Judge Greene KC noted that the victim's extreme intoxication meant she was incapable of consenting or resisting. He stated that the defendants had deliberately taken advantage of her vulnerable condition and had planned the attack by choosing a location they expected to be deserted.

The judge set a starting point of 12 years for an adult offender, citing the aggravating factors of acting together, prolonged ordeal, victim's intoxication, and degradation. However, because both defendants were 17 at the time of the offence, the sentence was reduced to nine years to reflect their youth and immaturity. A further reduction was applied for their guilty pleas, resulting in a sentence of six and a half years. The judge then deducted six months for delay in the case, resulting in a final sentence of six years for each defendant.

The court imposed a determinate custodial sentence of six years, comprising three years in custody and three years on licence. Both men were also placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life, made subject to a Sexual Offences Prevention Order for ten years, and disqualified from working with children and vulnerable adults.

The victim's impact statement described the profound effect the attack has had on her life. The judge commended her bravery in coming forward, stating that she would take comfort from the fact that many people were there to listen to her when she did.

Both defendants had no previous convictions and were assessed as having learning disabilities. Mariano was found to have a moderate learning difficulty, while Soares was diagnosed with a mild to moderate learning disability. However, the judge concluded that their disabilities did not directly reduce their culpability for the offending, as they had demonstrated a clear understanding of their wrongdoing in police interviews.

The judge noted that while a custodial sentence was unavoidable given the seriousness of the offending, the principles of sentencing children and young people required the sentence to be as short as possible while ensuring public protection and rehabilitation.