A Donegal woman who was sexually assaulted by her friend while she slept has stated that she hopes her reporting the crime will help at least one other person.
The 27-year-old man pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to a count of sexual assaulting the then 18-year-old woman at his apartment in Co Donegal on June 30th, 2019.
He was handed a three-year sentence, with the final 18 months suspended.
The woman’s victim impact statement was read into the record by prosecuting counsel Roisin Lacey SC.
She asked in her statement, “What had I done to deserve this?”
Her statement continued: “I am not the bad guy here. I am the victim. I did nothing wrong. I feel like I am never going to trust anyone again.
“No young girl should have to live like this, and that is a reason why I am here – I need to report this because I don’t want anyone to have to go through this.”
She said she has since experienced suicidal thoughts and would not wish this feeling, in the aftermath of the assault, “on my worst enemy – nobody deserves that pain”.
“How could one person do this to another, especially someone you called a friend?” she said before she added that she had been taken advantage of and abused.
She said she hoped her reporting the crime would help at least one person.
“There is always light at the end of the tunnel,” she said.
Destroyed
She stated the night of the incident was a normal Saturday night for her. She said it was “otherwise happy”, but added: “Little did I know it would all change.”
She said the sexual assault has “completely and utterly destroyed her as a person,” and she woke up the next day wishing she had not woken up.
Imposing sentence, Mr Justice Paul McDermott said the man was aware the victim was asleep at the time, and through his actions had “denied her fundamental entitlement” to refuse intimacy.
He noted that while alcohol was a factor in the case, it was “no excuse” for the man's actions.
Mr Justice McDermott said he took into account the mitigating features, including the expressions of remorse, the man's own history of adversity and his lack of previous convictions.
He imposed a sentence of three years but suspended the final 18 months on strict conditions in light of the man's expressions of “sincere remorse” and his engagement with relevant services. He also directed the defendant to have no contact with the victim.
A local garda told Ms Lacey that the accused and the woman were known to each other. They socialised regularly, and she had previously stayed over at his home.
They had been out drinking in their local town that evening before they got food and returned to his home. She decided to stay over in his apartment that night, and he provided her with a pair of shorts to wear.
Not interested
When she returned to his sitting room, he had some more drink, but she did not drink any more alcohol, and he began to kiss her on the couch. There had been an attempt earlier in the evening to kiss her, but she told the man she was not interested.
The garda said she did kiss him back on the couch. He started to touch her breasts and her vagina, but she asked him to stop because she said she wanted to go to sleep. He agreed, and the interaction came to an end.
The girl later told gardaí that she went to sleep but woke up sometime later as she felt “something” on top of her.
She opened her eyes to see the accused on top of her with his penis exposed and pressed against her. Her shorts were pulled down, and her underwear had been pulled down also, exposing her breasts.
She asked him what he was doing and said she was trying to sleep. He stopped and said he was sorry, and she shouted at him to leave her.
The woman was upset and in a state of shock, the garda confirmed. She called her cousin at about 4.20am that morning, and the accused remained on the couch while she went back to bed. She messaged her mother to ask her to pick her up.
The woman ultimately made a complaint to gardaí the following day.
The accused was interviewed the following March. He agreed there had been sexual contact between them but maintained that it had been consensual.
Michael Bowman SC, defending, said the accused had “particular vulnerabilities”, and there has been no contact between him and the woman since.
He has been in foster care from the age of 10 after his mother struggled to care for him following the death of his father.
A number of reports were handed into court outlining his engagement with local mental health services.
Mr Bowman asked the court to accept his client’s remorse, which he said was indicated as soon as the woman woke up to find the accused assaulting her.
He said his client takes full responsibility for the harm he has caused.
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.
