Galway Bay fm newsroom - Former Ros na Rún actor Garrett Phillips has been jailed for six years for what a judge described as a "callous rape" on a vulnerable young woman.
The 46-year-old married father of two pleaded for leniency because of the amount of negative publicity and the impact it has had on his career.
At his sentence hearing last month, the young woman told the court her life was like a train on track going in the right direction until she met Garrett Phillips in a public park in Galway city in the early hours of Nov 5 2015.
She went there after leaving a nightclub early and was visibly upset when he approached her and offered her a lift home - which she accepted.
While driving her home, he suggested they go to another location for an overview of the city. She said she fell asleep on the way and awoke to find him raping her.
She got out of the van and memorised his reg before she raised the alarm at a nearby house.
Phillips, who recently starred as Frank Sinatra in a West End show, claimed what happened was consensual, but the jury disagreed last April.
His barrister said his client was throwing himself on the mercy of the court and asked her to consider the effect his actions have had on his family and career as mitigating factors.
Ms. J Eileen Creedon said there was a "predatory element" to what he did. Before jailing him for six years, she said he made her feel safe but took full advantage of her condition in a place she didn't know late at night.
