A man has been convicted of rape, after telling a lesbian woman that he was gay before luring her back to his Mullingar flat.

Samir Mansour, (48), originally from Tunisia, had pleaded not guilty to raping the woman at his then apartment at Windmill Hill, Prospect, Dublin Road, Mullingar on January 8, 2010.

The victim told the Central Criminal Court that she met Mansour at a nightclub. She said she told him she was gay and he said he was also gay before inviting her back to his apartment for a party.

At his apartment, Mansour apparently made a phone call and when he got no answer, he told her his friends weren’t coming.

Mansour began making lewd remarks and told her: “All gay people have sex together.” When she tried to leave,  Mansour grabbed her by the arm, swung her around and holding both her arms, forced her into the bedroom. She was resisting and bit him on the chest.

She said Mansour had changed from being a quiet guy to being “terrifying”.

He held her down on the bed and when he told her to spread her legs she said to him “you realise this is rape”, but he told her to shut up.

Mansour placed his fingers over her eyes and told her he would poke her eyes out if she moved. He then raped her.

Mansour, with a current address at The Lock, Market Point, Mullingar, was convicted by a jury after six hours of deliberation and a 10-day trial.

Ms Justice O’Malley handed down a nine-and-a-half year sentence for the rape and sexual assault charges, and suspended the final 18 months of both.

Mansour also received a six-year sentence for false imprisonment, and four years for making threats to kill. All sentences are to run concurrently.

In her victim impact report, the victim said the attack has left her feeling fragile and helpless on her own. She said the rape has affected every aspect of her life and left her feeling fearful, distrustful and paranoid.