Irish firefighter who raped woman ahead of Boston St Patrick’s Day parade then tried to flee US gets letter of support from his WIFE at sentencing
An Irish firefighter who was convicted last week of raping a woman ahead of his appearance in the Boston St. Patrick’s Day parade received some support from his wife and two daughters as he pleaded with a judge to allow him to return home.
Terence E. Crosbie, 39, returned to the Suffolk County Superior Court on Thursday, when he was sentenced to serve seven to nine years behind bars for raping an unidentified woman over the course of 15 minutes inside a sixth-floor room of the Omni Parker Hotel on March 15, 2024.
Crosbie has repeatedly denied he ever touched the woman, and asked Suffolk Superior Court Judge Joshua Wall on Thursday to allow him to return to Ireland, while his defense attorneys urged Wall to impose a three to five year sentence, according to the Boston Globe.
‘His conviction is serious, is egregious and regrettably, it will have a long, lasting impact on the victim and others,’ attorney Daniel C. Reilly acknowledged. ‘That said, Mr Crosbie’s life amounts to more than 15 minutes and this conviction.
‘He’s a husband and a dedicated father to two young daughters,’ the attorney noted.
To bolster his argument, the defense filed 80 pages of letters in support, including one from his wife and a joint letter from his girls, ages 15 and eight.
‘Our dad is the kindest, most caring and hardworking person we know,’ they wrote. ‘He always puts our family first and makes sure we feel loved, safe and supported.
‘He is not just our dad – he is our hero.’
Dublin firefighter Terence Crosbie, 39, was sentenced Thursday to serve seven to nine years behind bars in Massachusetts
He had received letters of support from his wife and his two daughters as he pleaded for a lenient sentence
They then pleaded with the judge to return their father to them.
‘Life feels so hard without him and we just want our dad back at home, where he belongs, to love us, guide us and make our family whole again,’ the girls wrote.
‘We need him home and we know he will continue to be the wonderful father, husband and person that everyone who knows him admires and depends on.’
Another letter was written by a fellow Dublin firefighter who had worked with Crosbie since 2012, The Irish Times reports.
His statement said the ‘situation that Terry is involved in’ was ‘not consistent with the person I know as a loyal friend and trusted colleague.
‘I dare say, if things were different, Terry would have been in line for promotion as an officer at this stage in his career,’ the firefighter wrote.
Other letters defending Crosbie’s character were written by nurses, primary school teachers and priests.
But when Crosbie was given the chance to speak for himself at the sentencing hearing, he notably failed to apologize to the victim.
Crosbie had traveled with a group of firefighters to Boston on March 14, 2024 for the city’s annual St. Patrick’s Day parade
‘I understand the seriousness of the situation,’ he instead told the judge. ‘I respect you. I respect this courtroom, I respect the jury, I respect everybody involved in this process. I deeply respect this court and the legal system.
‘I recognize the weight of this court’s responsibility,’ he added as he asked for leniency, citing his 18 years of service to the people of Dublin and the fact that he is the sole breadwinner for his family.
But prosecutors argued Crosbie continued to pose a danger to women, with Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney Erin Murphy referencing a 2017 tweet he made referencing a potential trip to Amsterdam.
‘Ajax away be a descent trip,’ he wrote on X. ‘6ft blondes & most unreported rape capital of Europe sure even if it’s Vigo vs Lyon be worth a trip.’
Murphy said the tweet, which she described as a ‘public endorsement of rape’ reflected Crosbie’s ‘extremely dangerous and predatory mindset’ and shows he poses a ‘future threat to women,’ NBC Boston reports.
Crosbie had also shared a vile birthday message to his wife on October 10, 2021.
‘Happy Birthday babe,’ Crosbie wrote on X. ‘I will rupture your cervix later.’
Crosbie has a history of disturbing posts, including one where he shared his desire to ‘rupture his wife’s cervix’
Back in 2017, Crosbie wrote about wanting to visit Amsterdam and see a soccer game before adding a questionable comment
The judge also heard from the victim at the sentencing hearing, when she teared up as she recounted how the rape disrupted her life and undermined her confidence.
‘My rapist has never offered an apology or any indication of regret for what he did,’ she said, according to the Globe.
‘It frightens me to think someone could attack another person and never feel the need to apologize or show any sense of remorse.’
She added that the crime ‘has had an impact that is so much more than the moment of the attack,’ saying it has ‘disrupted my sense of security and self-confidence.’
‘In the months since, I’m working every day to rebuild my life, to regain the strength and stability I once had.
‘I find myself descending, without warning, into unhappiness that I cannot control,’ she continued. ‘I feel bleak and lonely when I otherwise should feel happy… The trauma brought upon me that night has hurt my health, my work, my friends, my family and the sense of safety and security and well-being every day.’
The rape occurred in a sixth-floor room of the historic Omni Parker House in downtown Boston
Crosbie was found guilty of raping the woman last Friday after about 15 hours of deliberations over multiple days, following a trial in which both the firefighter and his accuser took the stand.
During the trial, prosecutors laid out how Crosbie flew to the United States with several other members of the Dublin Fire Brigade to participate in Boston’s St. Patrick’s Day parade.
The group landed at Boston’s Logan Airport the afternoon of March 14, and went to the bars that evening.
At the end of the night, Crosbie’s roommate, Liam O’Brien – a member of the Irish Fire Brigade – returned to the hotel room he was sharing with Crosbie with a woman he met at The Black Rose pub.
The woman testified in court that she fell asleep on the other bed after having consensual sex with O’Brien, who was splayed out and snoring loudly in the first bed.
She said she later awoke to Crosbie raping her.
Prosecutor Daniela Mendes told jurors that Crosbie returned to find the woman ‘vulnerable and defenseless’ and ‘saw an opportunity and took full, violent advantage of it.’
In tearful testimony, the victim claimed she broke free by maneuvering her legs to the ground, but Crosbie continued to follow her around the room and pressed her up against the wall, where he kissed her as she tried to collect her clothes to flee.
After being questioned about the rape, prosecutors said Crosbie rebooked his flight out of Boston to return to Ireland earlier
He was seen in police bodycam footage being escorted off a plane on March 16, 2024 before he tried to flee back home to Dublin
‘I just wanted to get out of there,’ she sobbed when asked why she didn’t cry for help.
‘I didn’t know anyone. I just wanted to get out.’
When she finally left the hotel, the victim said she sent her friend a text message about the assault and went to the Massachusetts General Hospital, where she was given a rape kit.
The victim continued to fight back tears as she described the allegations, including the moment she said she woke up to find Crosbie assaulting her. He is accused of saying: ‘This guy is sleeping. I know you want this.’
She told police she screamed at her alleged attacker: ‘What are you doing? Stop’, according to court documents.
The DNA testing from the rape kit revealed genetic material of two individuals, however the testing was insufficient to tie to any individual.
Instead, officers relied on security footage entering the hotel room about two hours after the alleged victim and his roommate entered.
When he was then questioned about the rape, prosecutors said Crosbie rebooked his flight to leave Boston earlier than planned.
He did not get far, though, as he was stopped by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers who filed onto the aircraft at Boston Logan International Airport two days after the alleged incident.
Still, Crosbie denied sexually assaulting the woman, telling the court he felt ‘like a rabbit in the headlights’ after the allegations came out.
Suffolk Superior Court Judge Joshua Wall described the incident as ‘an act of extraordinary sexual violence’
Crosbie was ultimately sentenced on Thursday to serve seven to nine years in Massachusetts state prison, with credit for the 20 months he spent behind bars awaiting trial.
In explaining his decision, Wall noted that Crosbie attacked the woman while she was ‘safely asleep, under the covers in a locked hotel room,’ calling the incident ‘an act of extraordinary sexual violence.’
‘The victim resisted and Mr Crosbie persisted,’ the judge said.
‘Mr Crosbie prolonged the violence, the fear, the trauma, as he continued to assault and batter the victim as she tried to escape the sexual assault.’
Wall went on to call the victim, who is a lawyer representing low-income clients, as an ‘accomplished woman with a challenging and meaningful job.
‘The jury certainly saw that in addition to being a reliable person, the victim had absolutely no motive to lie,’ he said.
‘She did not know the defendant. Moreover, she did not know who raped her. She did not say it was the defendant. Instead, it was the other evidence that proved the defendant’s identity as the rapist.’
