Costel Pirvu arrived from Romania in December 2017 with convictions in Romania and Germany for attempted rape, robbery and assault. About nine weeks later he caught a 19-year-old stranger walking home, raped her on a street, forced her to his apartment and raped her twice more.
The attack proved at trial
On 4 February 2018, the woman noticed a stranger watching her and ran. Pirvu caught her, forced her against a vehicle and onto the ground and raped her. He refused to let her go, threatened her and forced her to his apartment, where he raped her twice more. She escaped the next morning when another person entered.
Medical evidence recorded injuries to her face, back, breasts, arms, legs and genital area. Pirvu initially denied meeting her or leaving his apartment. Confronted with matching semen DNA, he admitted meeting her but claimed consent. A jury rejected that account after a nine-day trial and convicted him of three rapes and false imprisonment.
A concrete foreign record
The court heard that Pirvu had three convictions from Romania and Germany, including attempted rape, robbery and assault. A probation assessment found a very high risk of sexual offending within twelve months, no remorse or empathy and no understanding of the harm caused.
Sources do not establish whether Irish authorities knew that record when he arrived, whether European systems were checked or whether a lawful public-security restriction was available. Those are unanswered questions, not established failures by a named official.
The sentence corrected on appeal
The Central Criminal Court initially imposed ten years but suspended three and a half, partly because Pirvu could not speak English, received no family visits and faced difficulty joining prison courses. The DPP appealed the effective six-and-a-half years as unduly lenient.
The Court of Appeal agreed that the discount was excessive, highlighting the attempted-rape conviction and risk assessment. It substituted ten years with only the final 18 months suspended: eight and a half years in custody, backdated to 7 August 2018.
Chronology
- Before December 2017: Three Romanian and German convictions, including attempted rape.
- December 2017: Arrival in Ireland.
- 4 February 2018: Three rapes and false imprisonment.
- 2021: Jury convictions after nine-day trial.
- 25 July 2022: Initial six-and-a-half-year custodial term.
- 19 January 2023: Court of Appeal increased custody to eight and a half years.
Taxpayer benchmark
At the €99,072 annual staffed-space average, 8.5 years represents a gross benchmark of €842,112. The successful DPP appeal added two custodial years, equivalent to €198,144 at that benchmark.
Questions the State should answer
- Were Pirvu’s foreign convictions known when he entered?
- If available through European systems, were they checked?
- Was any individual public-security assessment made?
- Has a post-sentence EU residence or removal assessment begun?
- What safeguards will apply if he is released in Ireland?
- What was the full cost of trial, appeal, incarceration and victim services?
Sources
- The Irish Times, 19 January 2023 — sentence appeal and prior record.
- Irish Examiner, 19 January 2023 — increased sentence.
- The Journal, July 2022 — original sentence and arrival chronology.
- Irish Prison Service Annual Report 2024 — cost benchmark.