Thomas “Tossy” Nyhan, a married man with four children, subjected his victim to the “twisted and inhumane” rapes, for which the 60-year-old famer now likely faces a prison sentence
A man who was twice raped by a farmer stated he is “a ghost of the man he used to be”.
Thomas “Tossy” Nyhan, 60, has been convicted of two counts of rape, both of the same victim, a man he had known for several years. In a emotional statement read out at Ireland’s Central Criminal Court sitting in Limerick, the victim said there are “not words strong enough to capture the pain” he has suffered.
“He raped me twice. This was not a moment of confusion. It was cold, calculated and violent – he knew what he was doing – and eight years later he did it again. This is what he chose. This is who he is. I trusted him and told him about my trauma and vulnerabilities and he controlled, degraded and violated me in the most horrific way,” the statement, read into the record by Fionnuala O’Sullivan SC, prosecuting, said.
Nyhan, a married man with four children, had pleaded not guilty to two counts of rape of the man in January 2011 and April 2019 but was convicted after a trial. He is now likely to be sent to jail when the case resumes next month.
The court heard Nyhan, who has no previous convictions, spoke of his children during the incident, which the victim said he found to be “twisted and inhumane”. The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said he disclosed the second rape to his GP, because “I could not hold the weight of his abuse any longer”. He later told police about the earlier incident of rape, which happened eight years previous.
The victim added: “I am trapped. I am broken, alone. I have no one, because my barriers are always up. He is a rapist and that will follow him for the rest of his life and it should.” According to the Irish Mirror, he said he is “a ghost of the man he used to be”.
He then spoke to other victims of abuse and those who feel they are silenced, adding: “Please hear this – standing up and speaking out is one of the most hardest things but it is powerful and lifechanging.” He concluded his victim impact statement by acknowledging the people who assisted him – the Gardaí, his GP, the Rape Crisis Centre, a support worker and the legal team for the prosecution.
Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring, the judge, described the victim statement as “a powerful piece of work”, and recognised the man is “carrying a burden”.
Nyhan, a farmer from Crookstown, County Cork, was remanded into custody ahead of his sentencing, which will be at the same court in Limerick on July 21.