Gheorghe Goidan: two women raped at knifepoint in two cities on the same day

At about 10am on 7 September 2017, Gheorghe Goidan attacked a woman in a Portlaoise hotel. Eleven hours later, after crossing the country, he attacked another woman in Galway. He had time to stop. Instead he repeated the planned operation.

Two planned attacks

Goidan found both women through an escort website and arranged separate hotel meetings. In each room he produced a knife, threatened, raped, sexually assaulted and robbed the woman. The first victim was raped and sexually assaulted in Portlaoise; the second was raped orally, vaginally and anally in Galway.

He admitted the robberies but denied the sexual offences. On 14 May 2019, a Central Criminal Court jury convicted him on every contested count. Gardaí connected the attacks, used M6 toll-plaza CCTV to identify him and recovered a stolen phone and the knife.

Ms Justice Tara Burns found planning, premeditation and deliberate targeting of vulnerability. She imposed ten years for each woman’s case and ordered the terms consecutive because they were distinct attacks in different cities. The Court of Appeal rejected challenges to both conviction and sentence in July 2022.

Chronology and prior record

• 2007: British conviction for possession of a false passport.
• 7 September 2017, about 10am: Portlaoise attack.
• 7 September 2017, about 9pm: Galway attack.
• 14 May 2019: Guilty verdicts on all contested sexual offences.
• 31 July 2019: Effective 20-year sentence.
• 14 July 2022: Conviction and sentence appeals dismissed.

The immigration record

Goidan is Romanian and therefore an EU citizen. The sources do not establish when he entered Ireland, what identity document he used, whether Irish authorities knew of his British false-passport conviction or whether an EU removal assessment exists. Those are gaps, not permission to invent answers.

EU removal is not automatic after conviction, but Irish law permits an individual public-policy or public-security assessment. Two planned, knife-enabled sexual attacks and one of Ireland’s longest determinate rape sentences plainly justify an explanation of whether that process has begun.

Public-cost benchmark

Applying the Irish Prison Service’s 2024 average of €99,072 per available staffed space to 20 years produces a gross benchmark of €1,981,440.

This is not an invoice. Remand credit, remission, release decisions and annual costs affect actual custody. It excludes capital spending, Garda investigation, prosecution, legal aid, appeal proceedings, healthcare and victim support.

Questions the State should answer

1. When and under what verified identity did Goidan enter Ireland?
2. Was the British false-passport conviction known before the attacks?
3. Has an EU removal and exclusion assessment begun?
4. If removal is justified, will an order be ready before release?
5. Which agency owns the long-term immigration file?

Sources

• The Journal, 31 July 2019 — attacks and sentence.
• The Irish Times, 14 July 2022 — appeal outcome.
• Garda Commissioner’s August 2019 report — investigation.
• Irish Prison Service Annual Report 2024 — cost benchmark.

Record checked: 22 July 2026.