A former accountant has been jailed for a “disgusting” sexual assault on a vulnerable teenage girl he approached while she was out celebrating her Leaving Certificate results.
Nabil Habbar, 38, an Algerian national with an address at River Village, Athlone, Co Westmeath, pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting the teen in Athlone on a date in August 2021.
He appeared at Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court on Tuesday.
Judge Keenan Johnson handed down a sentence of three years and six months, with the final nine months suspended for four years, during which Habbar will remain under probation supervision.
The married man had worked as an accountant in Algeria but, after coming to Ireland several years ago, worked in the hospitality industry.
The sentencing hearing was told that the victim had been celebrating her results and was walking home when the accused approached her.
The restaurant worker, who had no prior criminal convictions, “complimented her, telling her she was beautiful”, and he kept walking with her and steered her in a particular direction.
The girl ran over to a friend, and Habbar was warned to “back off”. Later, the victim felt confident that Habbar was gone and told her pals they could leave her, and she stopped to rest.
However, the accused returned and sat beside her and “forcibly kissed her” while holding her face and neck while the victim pleaded with him to stop.
The court heard his hand touched her left thigh, and he moved her underwear aside and he forced his finger into her vagina even though the injured party told him “No”.
Habbar also put her hand over the top of his penis through his clothing before she screamed “No,” and he backed away when another man came to her assistance.
The victim was taken to a sexual assault treatment unit, which found she had genital injuries consistent with the assault described.
The court heard gardaí issued a public appeal for witnesses.
Judge Johnson noted that gardaí interviewed Habbar three times. In the first, he tried to convince gardaí the girl was drunk and nothing had happened.
During the second interview, he claimed she was upset, and liked it or that she was looking for drugs. In the final interview, Habbar said he was sorry.
Judge Johnson stressed it was clear the injured party never instigated sexual interaction with Habbar.
In her victim impact statement, she opened up about how it left her distraught, and she found it difficult to carry out tasks. She was questioning herself, looking over her shoulder and wondering if she was wrong.
She has been attending counselling but remains nervous and conscious about how she dresses, won’t go out alone, and her friendship with men was adversely affected.
However, she went to gardaí and did not want the same to happen to other girls.
The judge praised the victim for highlighting the crime.
He also noted from her statement that “her Leaving Certificate night will stay with her forever for all the wrong reasons”, it “sullied her results”, and she hoped the accused “will not commit such a disgusting crime again”.
Habbar brought €1,000 to court for the victim, who refused to accept it; the money will go to a domestic violence charity instead.
The judge described it as a “very serious assault on a young vulnerable woman on a night out” and told Habbar it was clear his advances were not wanted.
He also noted that the accused perpetrated the most serious part of the crime when she let her friends go.
A probation report found him to be at low risk of re-offending but showed he had not taken full responsibility.
However, that could have been due to a language difficulty. Habbar listened to the proceedings with the assistance of an interpreter.
The offence carries a ten-year sentence.
The judge considered the aggravating factors and mitigation, including Habbar’s guilty plea, which spared the victim from going through a trial and cross-examination.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help.
