'Women shouldn’t have to live in fear going to work': Violent rapist gets 11 years for harassment and threats to three journalists

A man with previous convictions for rape and kidnapping has been sentenced to eleven years imprisonment at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for harassing three female journalists. Mark McAnaw, formerly of Letterkenny, County Donegal, pleaded guilty to charges relating to harassment that occurred in August 2023. He sent explicit and threatening emails to the women, including threats to kill, and attended their workplace. Judge Pauline Codd imposed the full sentence after McAnaw declined to accept conditions that would have suspended the final twelve months. She imposed a lifelong contact ban and ordered McAnaw remain ten miles from the women's homes and workplaces. The judge noted McAnaw's history of violent offending and his failure to engage with mental health treatment while detained at the Central Mental Hospital. McAnaw is assessed as presenting high risk of violent and sexual reoffending.