Man, 57, jailed for raping 13-year-old boy
Robert Kinsella lured his victim with alcohol and cigarettes
By Steve Brown
A man has been jailed for raping a 13-year-old boy who had just come out as gay.
Robert Kinsella lured the teenager back to his home after giving him cigarettes and alcohol while at a pub in South Molton, Exeter Crown Court heard.
The teenager had gone with older members of his family and Kinsella, 57, raped him after they had been drinking at a party elsewhere in the town.
The boy recently told his friends he was gay and was meant to celebrate Gay Pride in Exeter the following day.
While appearing in court, Kinsella denied rape but was found guilty and jailed for eight years.
The judge told him he had groomed the child and used alcohol to lure him and that his actions will have a lasting effect on the victim.
During the four-day trial, the teenager revealed how he was groomed by Kinsella and was attacked when he left the party to go and buy more alcohol.
The court heard they then went back to Kinsella’s home where he was raped.
They then returned to the party where the boy went to bed to avoid him only for Kinsella to climb into bed with him.
Other guests became worried and one climbed in between them to protect the victim, who was a virgin.
Prosecutor Virginia Cornwall said: “It was a painful experience for the boy, who was scared and told him to stop.
“He kept it to himself at first. He felt ashamed and embarrassed and did not want anyone to know.”
The rape took place in 2015, but the teenager reported it to the police a few months later when he was 14 and being pestered by Kinsella.
Kinsella has previous convictions for sexual assaults against boys but they were not brought into the trial as they dated back more than 20 years.