‘Deeply manipulative’ doctor at UHL sentenced to eight years in jail for raping young nurse while she slept

A “DEEPLY manipulative” doctor, who was working in University Hospital Limerick, has been jailed for eight years for raping and sexually assaulting a young nurse, who was also employed by the hospital.

Judge Sean Gillane, in passing sentence, said the accused man was not a callow youth or a person of limited ability or understanding. 

Judge Gillane said he was a mature man, and a doctor in the very hospital where the nurse worked.

Louay Kila, aged 31, a Moroccan national with an address at Cois Luachra, Dooradoyle, was convicted following a trial at the Central Criminal Court, sitting in Limerick, last week. 

He was found guilty of one count of rape and one count of sexual assault after the jury returned unanimous verdicts.

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Judge Gillane summarised the evidence this Friday which was outlined at a sentencing hearing last Friday by Garrett McCormack SC, with the assistance of Garda James O’Donoghue.

Counsel said Kila, and the nurse - who cannot be identified - were socialising in Limerick city on a particular date in 2024. They and a number of others went back to an apartment in the city centre to “continue partying”.

Mr McCormack said the victim fell asleep on a couch. He said a photo of Kila kissing the woman on the cheek while she slept, was shared on Snapchat, with other parties.

The prosecuting barrister said that some time later the victim awoke to the sensation of a penis in her vagina and felt a number of “short thrusts which lasted a minute”.

“She said she was in shock. She saw the accused standing there and his penis was erect. He digitally penetrated her with more than one finger. She said stop after she was awoken. He continued to do so,” said Mr McCormack.

The prosecuting barrister said Kila tried to kiss the victim by holding her jaw. “She told him to f*** off,” said Mr McCormack.

Kila and a number of others left the apartment. The barrister said that the victim was very upset and told her friends, “I just kept saying no”.

On the following day, she received a text message from Kila which read “I didn’t mean to upset you”; her “wellbeing was important to him” and concluded with “I want to make sure you are OK”.

The doctor was later arrested, charged and found guilty by a jury on Thursday, March 5.

Judge Gillane adjourned sentencing until this Friday to consider his sentence. The judge said he had listened carefully to the nurse’s victim impact statement, and spoke of the paralysing fear and anxiety she suffered, the effect on her career path and impact on family life.

“She spoke of her resilience, a resilience, which was evident throughout these proceedings, and I can only hope that this is a resource she will draw upon after the proceedings are finalised,” said Judge Gillane.

The judge said  the level of culpability in this case is, in his view, very high.

“The accused was not a callow youth or a person of limited ability or understanding - he was a mature man, and a doctor in the very hospital where she was working.

“Her vulnerability on the night, through the consumption of alcohol falling asleep, and the depth of that sleep is something of which the accused was acutely aware and he deliberately exploited that vulnerability.

"He had been invited into this home because they knew him and his friend as work colleagues in the hospital and she could never have anticipated that she was in any danger in doing so,” said Judge Gillane.

The judge said the text message Kila sent after the event in which he purported to express an interest in her wellbeing was “deeply manipulative”.

The judge said another serious aggravating factor was the photo taken of the accused kissing the victim, who was asleep on the couch, on the cheek.

“It was sent from her Snapchat account to the man she was seeing, as a result of whatever animus had arisen between them (Kila and the man she was dating). She was completely oblivious to this. This photograph effectively came crashing in on her as she was attempting to deal with what occurred when the man she was dating messaged her, ‘It’s over’.

“This deliberate act of humiliation used as an instrument in someone’s else game was seriously aggravated and contributed significantly to the harm done,” said Judge Gillane, who described the sexual assault, when Kila digitially penetrated the nurse, as an invasive act.

“He persisted despite being asked to stop,” said Judge Gillane.

Kila trying to kiss the victim by holding her jaw before he left the apartment “added insult to injury”, said the judge.

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Kila was represented by Brian McInerney SC, appearing with Liam Carroll BL, instructed by solicitor Daniel Kreith.

Judge Gillane took into account that Kila has no previous convictions and that his period in custody will be more difficult as he is a foreign national and does not have family support in Ireland.

Judge Gillane imposed an eight-year jail sentence on Kila for rape and four years imprisonment for sexual assault. They are to be served concurrently. Kila has been placed on the Sex Offenders Register.

Last week, the nurse, when she was reading out her victim impact statement, turned around in the witness box to look at Kila when she said: “To my rapist, I stood up and I am holding you accountable for your actions and I got justice. I hope to be an inspiration for any woman who has dealt with an incident like this and encourage them to stand up and hold their rapists accountable.”

If you have been affected by this story please contact the 24 Hour Rape Crisis Helpline on 1800 778888 or the Garda Confidential Line on 1800666111.