Irish firefighter sentenced to seven to nine years in prison for raping woman in Boston hotel room
At the sentencing hearing Thursday, Crosbie’s accuser tearfully described how the rape has disrupted her life and undermined her confidence. She expressed hope that someday she’ll be able to recover.
“My rapist has never offered an apology or any indication of regret for what he did,” she said. “It frightens me to think someone could attack another person and never feel the need to apologize or show any sense of remorse.”
“This crime has had an impact that is so much more than the moment of the attack, it’s disrupted my sense of security and self confidence,” she added. “In the months since, I’m working every day to rebuild my life, to regain the strength and stability I once had.”
Crosbie spoke briefly before his sentencing and thanked the court. He said he respected the jury’s verdict and “everybody involved.”
“I recognize the weight of this court’s responsibility,” he said.
Crosbie said he wants to contribute to society and asked the judge to consider the impact any sentence would have on his family, which includes his two young daughters.
He did not specifically offer an apology to the woman.
Crosbie’s father was in the courtroom but declined to comment after the hearing.
The jury deadlocked at Crosbie’s first trial in June.
In March 2024, Crosbie and several other members of the Dublin Fire Brigade traveled to Boston to participate in the St. Patrick’s Day parade. They landed at Logan Airport on the afternoon of Thursday, March 14, and went to bars that evening.
At the end of the night, Crosbie’s roommate, Liam O’Brien, returned with a woman to a room at the Omni Parker Hotel, where they had consensual sex.
The woman said she fell asleep in a second bed after having sex with O’Brien, who was splayed out and snoring loudly in the first bed. She later awoke to Crosbie raping her, she testified.
Three minutes after leaving the hotel, the woman texted her friend to say she had just been raped, according to testimony.
At around 3 a.m., the woman went to Massachusetts General Hospital’s emergency room, where she provided samples for a rape evidence kit.
Crosbie said that when he went inside the hotel room after waiting in the hall for a couple hours, he got into an empty bed and never interacted with the woman.
Prosecutors had sought a sentence of 9 to 12 years in the can, while the defense had requested 3 to 5.
Travis Andersen and Nick Stoico of the Globe staff contributed to this report, and material from prior Globe stories was used.
John R. Ellement can be reached at john.ellement@globe.com. Follow him @JREbosglobe.
