A DOCTOR who raped a nurse as she was sleeping at a friend’s apartment was jailed for eight years.
The victim said she “got justice” after her rapist, Dr Louay Kila, was convicted by a jury.
Kila (31), of Cois Luachra, Dooradoyle, had denied rape and sexual assault of the woman at an apartment in Limerick City on March 2, 2024.
The court heard that Kila raped the woman first and when she told him to stop, he carried on sexually assaulting her.
At the time, Kila was a senior registrar at University Hospital Limerick (UHL), where the victim was a nurse.
In a statement after Kila’s conviction, the HSE said it should have immediately suspended Kila from duty but it did not.
“Dr Kila should have been suspended from clinical practice when we became aware of the assault. Regrettably, this did not occur. This does not reflect current practice and policy,” HSE Mid West said.
“Protective measures were put in place for the victim based on her individual requirements following her identification of the assault. The welfare of our staff remains our priority.”
Kila was voluntarily suspended from the list of medical practitioners in Ireland in March 2025.
The court heard Kila encountered the victim at a bar on the night and they later separately went to an apartment as part of two different groups.
Sentencing Judge Sean Gillane said that Kila, a Moroccan native, “deliberately exploited” the victim’s vulnerability as she had been intoxicated and asleep when he raped and sexually assaulted her.
The judge said Kila made unfounded claims to Gardaí that he and the victim engaged in consensual activity at the apartment.
Kila claimed to Gardaí that the victim concocted the complaint against him because she was embarrassed and concerned her then boyfriend would find out they had been kissing.
Judge Gillane said the jury “rightfully rejected” Kila’s unfounded claims.
“He maintained it, knowing it to be false. His level of culpability is very high, he was a mature man and a doctor where the victim worked,” he said.
“The victim was vulnerable through consumption of alcohol and sleep and she was deliberately exploited by (Kila). She could not have anticipated she was in any danger.”
The court heard that Kila told the victim he did not like her boyfriend. Later on the night, a photograph of Kila kissing the victim on the side of her face while she was asleep was sent to the victim’s boyfriend via social media, which caused the victim further trauma as she had been completely oblivious to the taking and sending the photograph.
“It was a deliberate act of humiliation and is a highly aggravating factor in this case,” said the judge.
When Kila, who was accompanied by a friend on the night, was leaving the apartment after raping and assaulting the woman, he grabbed her by her jaw and tried to forcefully kiss her, the court heard.
“The kiss added insult to injury and reflects very badly on the accused,” said the judge.
Judge Gillane said that Kila acted in a “deeply manipulative” way when he sent the victim a text message the day after, asking if she was alright and asking if she wanted to meet up for a chat.
The victim courageously faced Kila in court after the jury convicted him of both offences, reading an impact statement and addressing Kila, saying: “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.”
The woman said that prior to the rape and assault she had been excited to be nursing at UHL, but that after the rape she couldn’t return.
She said she felt “physically sick” walking back into the hospital, where Kila continued working for a time.
“I feared for the patients of UHL, I knew that I had gotten out of the hospital but what about those who were left behind?,” she said in her statement.
“I feared something similar could happen to someone else and knew that I would be taking on the guilt of not having done enough if it did. I tried and the Gardaí tried to consult UHL but to no avail.”
The victim concluded: “I am a strong woman, I will heal from this, and I will be a stronger more resilient version of myself. I will never let that man take that away from me.”
In respect of the rape, the judge imposed a headline sentence of nine and half years, reducing it to eight years. Kila received a concurrent four-year sentence for the sexual assault and was placed on a register for sex offenders.
– Court Reporting Scheme