Copyright Boston.com
The Irish firefighter accused of raping a woman at a hotel while he was visiting Boston to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day was found guilty and sentenced Thursday to seven to nine years in state prison. Terence Crosbie, now 39, was found guilty by a jury last Friday in his second trial after a previous mistrial in June. He has already served nearly 20 months in jail since he was arrested in March of 2024, which will be credited toward his sentence. Crosbie was visiting Boston with fellow members of the Dublin Fire Brigade to walk in the parade, according to court records. A woman who went too accused Crosbie of raping her in while she slept at a downtown Boston hotel. The then-28-year-old woman told police that she met an Irish man named Liam O’Brien, a colleague of Crosbie, while she was out to dinner, according to prosecutors. The men were sharing a hotel room at the Omni Parker House, the Suffolk DA wrote. The woman, who is an attorney, then went to O’Brien’s hotel room around 11:30 p.m., had consensual sex, and “eventually fell asleep in separate beds,” prosecutors wrote. Then, around 1:55 a.m., Crosbie entered the room with his key card. The woman woke up to him raping her vaginally with his penis, the statement of facts allege. Twelve jurors and three alternates evaluated video evidence from the pub The Black Rose where she met O’Brien, the hotel room, and city surveillance footage, Judge Joshua Wall said. Other evidence included key card evidence showing Crosbie was in the hotel room, DNA evidence, and medical records. The woman spoke during the sentencing hearing Thursday about the impact of the rape on her work, friends, and family. “Working in my job once felt like a calling, but now it often feels difficult and overwhelming,” she said. “My health has suffered. I’ve experienced constant stress, sleepless nights and panic attacks. I need ongoing therapy and medical support just to manage daily tasks. I find myself descending, without warning, into unhappiness that I cannot control. I feel bleak and lonely when I otherwise should feel happy and loved.” Suffolk County prosecutors recommended a sentence of nine to 12 years, according to the sentencing memorandum. The Massachusetts Advisory Sentencing Guidelines recommend a five to seven-and-a-half-year sentence for those with no or a minimal record, prosecutors wrote. While Crosbie has no record in the U.S., prosecutors pointed to a public statement showing he “has demonstrated an extremely dangerous and predatory mindset — one that celebrates rape and belies his own desire to rape without punishment.” In 2017, Crosbie allegedly referenced an upcoming Europa League soccer game set to take place in Stockholm, Sweden on Twitter, now X. “6ft blondes & most unreported rape capital of Europe sure even if it’s Vigo vs Lyon be worth a trip (eyes emoji),” he allegedly wrote. Crosbie maintains his innocence and will be appealing the verdict, his lawyer Dan Reilly said in a statement. Reilly called the sentence “plainly excessive” given Crosbie’s status as a first-time offender, his years in public service as a firefighter and paramedic, and more than 70 positive character letters. “He believes that multiple genuine and legitimate reasonable doubts were raised in his trial, and that the jury, simply put, got it wrong, resulting in a miscarriage of justice,” Reilly said. “Mr. Crosbie intends to continue to be a model inmate and to avail himself of every opportunity – be it classes, programs, and/or employment – that the prison offers, in the hopes of improving himself, accumulating as much good time credit as he can, and returning to his wife and daughters as soon as possible.” During sentencing, the judge pointed to Crosbie’s “guilty conscience.” After he was interviewed by police, he boarded an earlier flight to Ireland. He was removed from the plane and arrested. “The jury concluded that the defendant lied to them,” Wall said. “The fair minded person with common sense who views the evidence in totality, without bias or preconceived notions, can see that once again, the jury system in Massachusetts has worked.” In court Thursday, the woman said that “(her) rapist has never offered an apology or any indication of regret for what he did.” “It frightens me to think that someone could attack another person and never feel the need to apologize or show any sense of remorse,” she said. “No one should ever have to go through what I went through. Terence Crosbie raped me and thought he could get away with it. While I will continue to struggle to get back to my former self, I applaud the justice system for getting it right this time.” Crosbie was committed to Souza Baranowski Correctional Center, the state’s only maximum security prison.
