US actor jailed for five years for raping and choking woman in Dublin

Sunday World

3 days ago

Kevin Yungman (32) first met the Brazilian woman in Paris three months previously
A US actor who placed his arms around the neck of a woman causing her to pass out before he raped her has been jailed for five years.
American Kevin Yungman (32) first met the Brazilian woman in Paris three months previously when they both happened to be on walking tour of the city.
She was 19 at the time and had been working in Dublin. Yungman was 25 years old. They had never met before. They spent the day together, had wine and chocolate at the Eiffel Tower and returned to his accommodation where they had consensual sex.
However during this meeting Yungman had told the woman at one point to start breathing fast, take a deep breath and hold it in before he placed a hand on her neck causing her to pass out.
Yungman, who has featured in a number of minor TV acting and singing roles, later explained to the woman that this was a technique he did when he was having sex.
He said when a person passes out it feels like you have taken drugs. He said it was normal and suggested it could be addictive. The woman told him that she had been scared by it.
They stayed in contact and agreed to meet again in Dublin the following June. They rented an AirBnB and again there was consensual sexual activity before Yungman raped the woman.
He placed his arms around her neck and squeezed hard. She tried to keep his arms away from her but she could not move out. She later told gardaí she was not strong enough.
She described to gardaí that at that point she passed out.
Yungman tried to turn her over and told her 'that's my girl, that's my girl' before he raped her.
The woman told gardaí she could not cope with it and asked him to 'please stop' telling him 'my body cannot take it'. Yungman said he would give her a break and they could go back to it later.
Detective Garda Kerrie Sullivan told Anne Rowland SC, prosecuting, that Yungman with an address in Florida, was arrested in the United States in August 2024 and extradited back to Ireland.
He had been initially questioned by gardaí in the immediate aftermath of the rape when they stopped him in Dublin Airport as he was about to board a flight to return home.
He strenuously denied choking the woman and said any activity that had taken place was consensual.
He was ultimately released without charge following questioning and permitted to return to the States pending direction from the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Kevin Yungman, 31, was taken into custody by US Marshals on Monday. Photo: Broward County Sheriff's Office
Yungman was brought before the Central Criminal Court last Monday when he pleaded guilty to one charge of raping the woman in June 2018 in the Airbnb on Usher's Quay in Dublin city centre.
The woman described in her victim impact statement experiencing panic attacks, mood swings, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, dysfunctional relationships and losing her faith in God, in the aftermath of the rape.
'I didn't celebrate birthdays as I felt there was no reason to celebrate my life,' the woman said.
'At 19, I didn't properly understand what was happening,' she said.
'I had been living a dream up until I met him,' the woman said describing living in Ireland as 'therapeutic' as she had just lost both her parents. She said the rape impacted her grieving process.
'In hindsight, I was vulnerable when I met him and he saw this in me,' she said.
She said when she heard the court case was going ahead, she felt 'a little more hopeful' and she began to look after herself.
'I took actions to reconnect with my body, took up physical activities, began to have fun again
I could look back on what happened with a mature mind, and I stopped blaming myself. I was only 19, enjoying life,' the woman said.
'This was manipulation and not my fault,' she continued.
'But honestly, when I truly felt alive again, was when I heard him say the word 'guilty',' the woman said before she described walking in the Phoenix Park afterwards 'and instantly life felt colourful again'.
'I want to close this time and never look back. Now, I will not live in pain anymore. The shadows of that memory is gone. I am glad now and I don't have to think about the dark memories,' she continued.
She thanked everyone that was involved in this process. 'This is what helped me finally heal from the incident. I am extremely grateful for hearing me at the garda station, I cannot stress how important this was to me ,' she said.
'How important it was to be heard as I felt so ashamed and guilty,' she concluded her statement by saying she now has 'the power to speak up and not be silent anymore'
Mr Justice Tony Hunt told the woman that he was very glad to hear the last few things she said.
'I listen to victims on a regular basis. Sometimes I feel I should tell them they should not let these things define them. I am really glad to hear that you have come around,' he said.
He said as an older person you come to realise that you are not going to be young forever and advised the woman to make the best of her youth. 'It is very important you realise that. And I am glad to hear you are moving on,' Mr Justice Hunt said.
Ms Rowland told Justice Hunt that the plea was acceptable to the DPP and was based on the rape when Yungman caused the woman to pass out.
She later outlined an incident when Yungman had sex with the woman on the sofa in the rented Dublin apartment after she had told him she did not want to do anything.
Yungman's mother took the stand and looked directly at the woman sitting in the body of the court.
She used the woman's first name and told her that 'from the deepest place in my heart and as a Mam and as a woman, I want to say sorry. There is nothing that I can say that is going to erase the pain. I want you to know that I heard every word that you said and I feel your pain. I am sorry'.
She said she taught her children the difference between right and wrong, describing themselves as a law abiding family. 'What happened to you should not happen to anyone'.
'I believe in accountability and that every wrongdoing must have a consequence. He needed to acknowledge his actions,' the woman continued.
She said as a mother the thoughts of being away from her son in a prison in Ireland while she is in America is 'breaking my heart' but added 'even in our pain we understand that justice must be served'.
She said she was not asking for forgiveness 'that would be too much' and said she was 'not asking for leniency'.
'Even in our pain we know we stand behind the truth and we know this is the truth. I pray every day that you heal from this,' the woman said.
Mr Justice Hunt addressed the woman and said it was very unusual in a case such as this for a parent to take the stand and address the court in that manner. He told the woman 'your son is very fortunate'.
Having adjourned the case earlier in the week after hearing the facts, yesterday, Mr Justice Hunt imposed a sentence of six years with the final 12 months suspended on strict conditions.
The judge said this was a 'very sad and difficult case', noting there was a consensual background, which took a 'bad turn'. He said it was not the first and would not be the last of this type of case to come before the courts.
'It all comes back to this idea of respect for the consent of the other person to sexual activity,' Mr Justice Hunt said, noting that people have a 'duty' to confirm that consent to a sexual act has been freely and voluntarily given.
The judge said the asphyxiation was among the aggravating factors in the case.
Referring to the victim impact statement, the judge said the woman was an 'incredibly articulate and thoughtful person' and said the court was 'heartened' that she appears to be making progress in her recovery.
Having set a headline sentence of eight years, the judge noted there was 'considerable mitigation' including Yungman's guilty plea and the difficulty he will face serving a sentence in a foreign jurisdiction.
Mr Justice Hunt said there was a 'real prospect' of Yungman 'fully rehabilitating himself elsewhere with the disabilities that such convictions bring, but that is something he will face up to in the future'.
He imposed a six-year sentence with the final 12 months suspended on strict conditions and backdated it to August 2024, when Yungman went into custody in the United States.
The judge directed Yungman to have no contact direct or indirect with the victim in perpetuity. He also told the defendant he must leave the jurisdiction once he is released from custody and not return for 10 years.
Mr Justice Hunt said Yungman was 'fortunate' to have the support of his mother and wider family, who would support him and help him after he has paid a penalty for his serious misconduct.
He wished the victim well for the future and said in the circumstances, the court would also wish Yungman's family well. 'They are not responsible for what happened and they are patently decent people,' the judge said.
ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE
Det Gda Sullivan told Ms Rowland that during the Dublin trip, having initially had said 'no' to having sex with Yungman without a condom, the woman ultimately did have sex with him after they had some alcohol together.
She told Yungman the next morning that she had regretted that and told him it would not happen again. He replied 'okay' and began touching her. She said she didn't want to do anything but he told her to shush, that he would not doing anything she did not want.
The woman tried to get up but Yungman turned her around so that her back was facing up and she was face down on the sofa. They had previously arranged a safe word between them and despite the woman saying no and using the safe word a number of times, Yungman had sex with the woman.
He told her to move and she said she didn't want to do that. She was feeling tired and he instructed her to go on his lap. He told her he wanted her to feel the same pleasure before he brought her into the bedroom and showed her a condom.
She said no that she was too tired but he kept trying and she asked him to put it on him. He took the condom from her and placed it under the pillow. She continued to tell Yungman to stop. She told him she did not want to engage in any other sexual activity.
Det Gda Sullivan said Yungman put his hands around the woman's neck and was squeezing very hard. She tried to keep his arms away from her but she could not move out. She later said she wasn't strong enough.
Yungman tried to turn her over and told her 'that's my girl, that's my girl' before he raped her.
The woman later told gardaí she could not cope with it and asked him to 'please stop' telling him 'my body can not take it'. Yungman said he would give her a break and they could go back to it later.
The woman later told gardaí that during the Paris trip, when she had also passed out by Yungman holding her neck, her mind was in a mess afterwards and she had not realised she had passed out.
Yungman asked the woman if she liked it. She was confused and didn't want to ask. She slept and there was more sexual activity afterwards.
She later told him in Paris that she had been scared by the earlier incident. He said it was normal and one could get addicted to feelings such as this. She changed the subject as she felt he was trying to encourage her to go again.
Lorcan Staines SC, defending, read a letter of apology from his client into the record in which Yungman apologised for the pain he had caused the victim and her loved ones.
He said he was so ashamed of himself and 'the choices that I made that have brought you here'.
He described how his parents are not wealthy people and they have put all their savings into funding his defence.
He said he has 'shattered my family' and they will never be the same again.
He apologised again for 'the atrocities I have caused you'.
'I will never forgive myself. I pray every day that God will bless you and help you move on. I am so sorry. I am so sorry,' Yungman wrote.
Mr Staines said that his client has qualified as an emergency medical technician and has worked as a paramedic. He was working as a real estate agent at the time of their meeting in 2018.
He asked the court to accept that Yungman consented to his return to Ireland and never applied for bail.
Mr Staines accepted that his client initially denied the offences, but said he co-operated with the garda investigation and ultimately pleaded guilty.
He said he is from a good respectable family and Mr Justice Hunt interjected – 'the one thing he is fortunate in'.
Counsel said it had been a positive interaction in Paris but acknowledged that 'license to do one thing is not license to do another' before he acknowledged there was 'no question that there was an absence of consent'.
FURTHER VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENT
She said she decided to report the rape to the gardaí and knew this meant she would have to tell her sister.
'I couldn't speak the words about being choked, every time I spoke the words out of my mouth I felt it happening again, my mind was protecting myself from the pain again,' the woman continued.
She described the following examination at the sexual assault treatment unit as being made feel like she was a science project, describing it as 'inhuman' and 'invasive'.
She said she told the nurse in the SATU that she had been choked and raped and that was the first time she had mentioned the fact that she had been choked.
She said the trip to Paris was her first trip on her own and she was excited and 'super proud of myself'.
'I felt self empowered, safe and confident. I met some lovely people,' she said.
She spoke about meeting Yungman. She said he was very friendly and seemed good company. She said they chatted and she felt safe and secure. 'I felt ashamed looking back for believing him and spending time with him'.
The woman said when she met Yungman in Dublin she felt as if she was 'falling in love'.
'Only now, seven years later that I can say out loud that night I was raped by him. I understood in that moment. I knew instantly that I had been raped. It was like something in me had died in that moment. My body felt like it was not my own anymore,' the woman said.
She said retreated into a shell and felt dirty the next day. She tried to clean herself internally and began to have a panic attack. She said it was her first panic attack.
The woman said she ultimately returned to Brazil but struggled with the return of 'a lot of feelings'. She said she thought it easier not to live and questioned the meaning of life. 'I felt I did not belong here,' the woman said.
She described engaging in dysfunctional relationships, her anxiety and panic attacks got worse and she knew she needed professional help.
'I know now that every problem in my life at that time, the root of it was the rape. The other things were just a distraction from the rape,' she said.
She said experienced mood swings and lost her faith in God. She said beforehand she was spiritual and she would always pray for help but she thought 'no God would let this happen to a woman'.
The woman said she began to self harm and while driving thought if she swerved or accelerated would it be enough to kill her. She thought while peeling a fruit if she put the knife into her throat.
She said she had never experienced these feelings before the rape. She said had no self love, no confidence. 'I was insecure and disconnected to myself.' She said experienced trouble sleeping and eating.