A woman who was left ‘completely broken’ after being raped took her own life hours after a family walk inadvertently went past her attacker’s house.
Ryan Callaghan has been found guilty of raping the ‘vulnerable’ mum of one, whose identity has not been made public.
The victim and her family, including her mum, went for a walk to the beach on the day she took her own life.
Her mother told Newcastle crown court: ‘Unknown to us, the route we took took us directly past Callaghan’s house.
‘Her mood became extremely low. Walking past Callaghan’s house tipped her over the edge. It was months later we found out where he lived and that day will haunt us forever.’
The victim phoned a relative and asked to be picked up and taken home. Shortly afterwards, she took her own life.
The court heard that in a note left for her mum, it was ‘absolutely clear the rape of her by the defendant was one of the factors which was forefront in her mind’.
Prosecutor Jon Harley said the victim had recently been released from hospital after self-harming at the time of the rape, and was ‘extremely vulnerable’.
Her mother said: ‘There are no words to describe what we’ve all been through. Callaghan’s vile act on our daughter was a major factor in her taking her own life. She just couldn’t cope with it.
‘He betrayed her trust and he left my daughter completely broken by his actions. We are serving a life sentence in the knowledge of what he did.
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‘She was in crisis at the time she was raped. He was fully aware of that but he didn’t care about that or how his actions would add to her trauma.
‘He showed no remorse for what he did and no sadness at all for the loss of her life.’
Callaghan, 33 and of Mowbray Road in South Shields, denied raping his victim but he was found guilty by a jury after a trial.
The court heard he has two previous convictions for common assault.
The victim’s mum added: ‘It’s a shame the jury and everyone in the case didn’t get to see the (woman) we all loved. She was loved so much by all who knew her and had so many friends.
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‘What Callaghan did has been devastating for us all. The pain felt by us, including her little boy, is immeasurable.
‘In the note she left behind she asked that her son knows how much he was loved. We will spend the rest of our days making sure he knows that.’
Jane Foley, defending, said Callaghan ‘does not accept’ the decision of the jury and said it was ‘obviously devastating’ the victim took her own life.
She also said Callaghan has two young children and that there is a ‘very different and positive side to this defendant’.
Callaghan will be sentenced next week.
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