A woman told Youssef Shehata that she was in pain and did not consent to sex a second time. She said no repeatedly. He continued. A Central Criminal Court jury convicted him of rape, and the judge imposed four years of immediate custody followed by strict probation conditions.
Consent to one act was not consent to another
The woman met Shehata at the Dublin café where he worked. They began a relationship. On 16 September 2022 they had consensual sex in her apartment, after which a medical condition left her in pain. Later, Shehata offered a massage. She consented to the massage, not to sex. The evidence accepted by the jury was that he began penetrating her, she told him she was still in pain and said no several times, but he did not stop.
That sequence is legally and factually central. A prior relationship and an earlier consensual act did not supply consent for what followed. Mr Justice Paul Burns said Shehata cynically and selfishly ignored the woman's clearly expressed refusal.
The cost borne by the victim
The woman had come from Spain hoping to establish a life and improve her English. Her impact statement described anxiety attacks, nightmares, increased medication and intrusive thoughts after the rape. She tried to remain in Dublin but no longer felt safe and returned to Spain.
Those harms cannot responsibly be converted into a speculative euro total. The public reports do not quantify her lost work, travel, medical treatment or therapy. They do establish that the offence displaced her from the life she had been building in Ireland.
Conviction and sentence
A Central Criminal Court jury convicted Shehata of one count of rape. At sentence on 19 May 2026, the judge selected a seven-year headline term. He accounted for Shehata's age at the offence, supportive family, education, previous prospects and rehabilitation potential, then imposed five years with the final year suspended.
The four-year immediate term is followed by conditions including three years of engagement with the Probation Service. The reporting does not state that an appeal has been lodged or resolved. This file therefore records the jury conviction and sentence as the latest located adjudicated outcome without claiming that all possible appellate deadlines have expired.
Chronology
- 16 September 2022: the rape occurs in the woman's Dublin apartment.
- After the offence: she reports it to Gardaí and later returns to Spain.
- Before May 2026: a Central Criminal Court jury convicts Shehata of rape.
- 19 May 2026: five years imposed, with the final year suspended and probation conditions attached.
Public-cost boundary
The Irish Prison Service reported a 2024 average of €99,072 per available staffed prison space. Applying it mechanically to the four-year immediate term produces a nominal face-value benchmark of €396,288.
Identity and status limits
The public reports identify Youssef Shehata and his Dublin address but do not establish his nationality, birthplace, citizenship, immigration permission, asylum history or any removal decision. His name is not evidence of any of those matters. No previous-conviction history was stated in the sentencing accounts reviewed for this file.
Sources
- The Irish Times, 19 May 2026 — conviction, evidence, impact statement and sentence.
- BreakingNews.ie / Courts News Ireland, 19 May 2026 — detailed sentencing account and probation conditions.
- Roscommon Herald, 19 May 2026 — syndicated sentencing record.
- Crime World, 19 May 2026 — conviction and sentence.
- Criminal Law (Rape) Act 1981, section 2 — rape offence.
- Irish Prison Service Annual Report 2024 — staffed prison-space benchmark.