Rape verdict on husband is first in NI

A Belfast man has become the first person in Northern Ireland to be convicted of raping his wife.

A Belfast man has become the first person in Northern Ireland to be convicted of raping his wife.

However, the Downpatrick Crown Court jury who convicted the 41-year-old salesman by a majority of 11 to one acquitted him of five other rape charges and failed to agree on a sixth.

During the two-week trial the woman, a mother of one, claimed that her estranged husband told her it was "his right as a married man" to rape. He was remanded in custody to await sentence on a later date.

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