Mr. Justice John Quirke:

As I understand it the history of the victim may be relevant and admissible with respect to the offence itself, or whether the offence was committed. Once there is a conviction, I cannot see the relevance of the victim's previous sexual history in the sentencing of an accused person being convicted of rape or sexual assault. I do not know of any judges who would admit that. I have certainly heard a number of rape cases and other cases of that kind but I would not dream of listening to sexual history as a relevant factor in sentencing.