Two Men Sentenced Over Rape of Woman in Dungannon Underground Car Park

Two men who admitted raping a young woman in an underground car park in County Tyrone have been handed custodial sentences, bringing to a close a case that a judge described as involving a prolonged and humiliating ordeal.

Luis Dos Martins Mariano, aged 20 and of Sloan Street in Dungannon, and Alcino Soares, aged 21 and of Braeside in the same town, had both earlier entered guilty pleas to a single charge of rape. They were sentenced at Downpatrick Crown Court on Thursday, where Judge Richard Green imposed a six-year term on each man. Under the structure of the sentence, three years will be spent in custody and the remaining three will be served on licence in the community.

Both defendants appeared before the court by video link from Hydebank prison, where they had been held in the period leading up to sentencing. The pair, who moved to Northern Ireland from East Timor when they were younger, were also ordered to remain on the sex offenders register for life and were disqualified from working with children and young adults.

The attack took place on 10 September 2023, when the two men were 17 years old and the victim was 19. According to the prosecution's account, the woman had been on a night out in Dungannon on the evening of 9 September and was, by her own description, quite drunk when she found herself outside a fast food outlet.

She told the court she was approached by two males who appeared to be East Timorese. Her next recollection was of walking between the two men down an alleyway that led into a car park, and she recalled having difficulty standing and being unable to speak properly.

The prosecution outlined that the victim described one of the males beginning to rape her while the other kept watch and stood laughing. She also remembered being taken to a corner of the car park, where she was raped a second time. The men eventually left her, and she later got to her feet and made her way out of the car park.

CCTV cameras in the car park captured part of the incident, and the prosecution told the court that the footage was consistent with the guilty pleas entered by both defendants. The prosecution characterised the woman as incapacitated and in a vulnerable state at the time of the attack.

Sentencing the pair, Judge Green said the CCTV footage made for disturbing viewing. He commended the bravery of the victim in coming forward and described her as a survivor, adding that her impact statement was both eloquent and moving. He said the woman had been subjected to a prolonged and humiliating ordeal, with the two men taking turns to rape her.

The judge said it should have been obvious to both men that she was intoxicated, that she was less able to recognise the danger she was in, that she was not capable of resisting what he called a cowardly attack, and that she was not able to call for help. He also said that taking her to a car park at such a late hour demonstrated a significant degree of planning and foresight.

In determining the sentence, Judge Green said he had taken into account a number of mitigating factors, including the men's young age at the time of the offending, their learning difficulties, their guilty pleas, delays in the progress of the case, and the time they had already spent in prison. The case had been subject to a lengthy legal process, with numerous adjournments before both men ultimately admitted the offence.

A Tetum interpreter was present during an earlier sentencing hearing at Dungannon Crown Court on 3 September, standing beside Soares and Mariano to translate the prosecution's account of the victim's evidence.

The court had previously heard that Mariano admitted rape in March 2025, while Soares initially pleaded not guilty. It was not until just before he was due to stand trial, in October 2025, that Soares changed his plea and admitted the charge. A defence barrister for Mariano told the court in September that his client was not disputing the harm caused by the case, and outlined an expert report that found Mariano had a moderate learning disability.

The barrister said the issues for his client centred on age, vulnerability and cognitive ability, and confirmed that there was no challenge to the integrity or strength of the victim, who clearly had not consented. The court was told Mariano had apologised and expressed shame and remorse. Soares' defence barrister said his client was not fluent in either Tetum or English, and that an expert report found this language deficit had affected his understanding of societal norms and morals. The barrister said Soares had accepted his wrongdoing and was remorseful.

Detectives from the Police Service of Northern Ireland welcomed the outcome. Ch Insp Steph Finlay described the incident as an appalling and deeply distressing attack on a young woman who should have been able to make her way home safely after meeting with friends. She said the actions of the two men were predatory and degrading, and showed a complete disregard for their victim.

The senior officer also paid tribute to the courage the woman had shown throughout what she acknowledged had been an extremely difficult and traumatic process, and said the sentences held both men accountable for their actions.