A former Irish rugby international has been found guilty of the rape of a woman in France in 2017, while another former player has been convicted of failing to prevent a crime.
Former Irish U20 prop Denis Coulson has been sentenced to 14 years in prison after being found guilty of raping a woman in Mérignac, on the outskirts of Bordeaux.
Former Irish international Chris Farrell has received a four-year sentence with two years suspended for failure to prevent a crime.
He will not be sent to prison but will have to wear an electronic tag for two years and remain in France, RTÉ reports.
Three other men were also on trial in connection with the incident; New Zealanders Rory Grice, and Dylan Hayes, as well as Frenchman Loick Jammes.
All five men had denied the charges they faced.
The presiding judge had excluded media from proceedings, at the request of lawyers for the alleged victim.
Ireland
Convicted murderer on the run from Derry prison
It began last week at La Cour d’Assises, a criminal trial court in the region of Gironde.
In the small hours of March 12th 2017, the student, identified only as V., was in tears as she left a hotel on the outskirts of Bordeaux, where the Grenoble team spent the night after losing a Top 14 encounter against local side Bordeaux-Begles.
The three main defendants left Grenoble in 2017 after the accusations emerged, to pursue their careers at other clubs.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help.
