A food delivery man is to be sentenced next month after he pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a student who had ordered a takeaway in Dublin.
Arslan Cheema (29) of Brookview Avenue, Artane, Dublin 5, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault carried out in a car outside student accommodation in the city centre on April 4th, 2021.
At a hearing on Thursday, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that the injured party was aged 19 at the time and had been on first-name terms with Cheema, from whom she ordered regular takeaways.
In a victim impact statement, which she read aloud to the court, the student addressed Cheema, saying he had destroyed her self-image and her confidence.
“You hurt me so much; no one can even begin to imagine what you have done to me,” the young woman said.
She said she was devastated after the assault and scrubbed her hands so hard they bled.
“I felt so disgusted with myself. I had a breakdown. I ended up in hospital,” said the woman, who added that she was put on anti-depressants and anti-psychotics, which made her gain weight and feel like a zombie.
Detective Garda Conor Mackey told Lisa Dempsey BL, prosecuting, that the woman told gardaí she had been collecting food at the front gate of the student complex where she lived at the time.
She said it was dark on the night and the weather was not great, so she got into the passenger seat of the parked vehicle.
The woman told gardaí that Cheema placed her hand on his penis and tried to kiss her.
She said she felt very uncomfortable and was “frozen and shook”, guessing it lasted around 10 seconds.
The woman asked Cheema, “What’s wrong with you?” and he said he hadn’t had sex and his partner was pregnant.
CCTV
She said there was some proposal by him that they get into the back of the car, and he grabbed her face and tried to kiss her. She told him to get off her, and she left the car, slamming the door.
CCTV footage was obtained, which showed the teenager getting out of the car, looking upset, and slamming the door.
The student went back to her apartment and notified her friend and then gardaí.
Her flatmate described her as sobbing, upset and in a state of shock.
The flatmate rang the restaurant where Cheema worked and was eventually put through to him. He said he was really sorry and didn’t mean to hurt her.
Snapchat message
Cheema, whom the injured party referred to by his Snapchat name “Charlie”, then sent her a message on Snapchat saying he was embarrassed and sorry.
She responded by telling him to leave her alone, and then she got a missed call and blocked his number.
The student told gardaí that while she would have chatted to him before on a friendly basis, she didn’t want to touch or kiss him.
Cheema was arrested and gave gardaí a different account, saying they were friendly and that he felt they could talk about “sexual stuff”.
He said he was sorry if he had hurt her, but he didn’t believe he had done anything she wasn’t happy with and that she had been smiling and joking.
He has no previous convictions.
Gda Mackey agreed with Michael D Hourigan SC, defending, that Cheema was “downplaying” it but pointed out that there is often “belated recognition” by an offender and that he had pleaded guilty.
The court heard Cheema now works as a Bus Éireann Expressway driver and has a young child.
He regularly sends money to his mother in Pakistan, counsel said.
A reference was handed into court from the mother of Cheema’s child, speaking to his good qualities, including being a good father.
Judge Orla Crowe adjourned the matter until November 4th to hear the balance of the mitigation prepared by the defence and to impose sentence.
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.
