A man who sexually assaulted his flatmate’s girlfriend in an apartment shortly after her boyfriend had left for work has been jailed for four years.
Mamadou Alpha Bah, a native of Guinea, was found guilty of the sexual assault and false imprisonment of the young woman from eastern Europe at an address in Kildare two years ago following a four-day trial at Naas Circuit Criminal Court in July.
Alpha Bah (26), a former cleaner at Intel in Leixlip, Co Kildare, had denied the charges.
At a sentencing hearing on Monday, Garda Conor O’Casey told the court that the victim, who is now aged 23, had only arrived in Ireland 10 days earlier.
Garda O’Casey said the woman, who used to sleep without any clothes, woke to find Alpha Bah in her bedroom at around 7.15am on August 20th, 2021, about 35 minutes after her boyfriend had left for work.
He told counsel for the DPP, Daniel Boland BL, that the accused had told her she was a very good-looking woman but that she had pointed out that they both already had partners.
Garda O’Casey said Alpha Bah had pulled the bedclothes off the woman leaving her naked and proceeded to kiss her and touch her on the vagina.
The court heard Alpha Bah had “got on top of” the victim and she struggled for around 10 minutes to try and get Alpha Bah to stop.
However, she managed to persuade him from doing something “more serious” by promising not to report him to gardaí if he stopped.
Garda O’Casey said the woman was screaming during the incident but was not heard by anyone.
He said the woman was unable to go ahead with a job interview later that morning and spent the rest of the day with a friend.
The matter was reported to gardaí after she informed her boyfriend about what happened when he came home that evening.
Panic attacks and anxiety
In a victim impact statement read out in court, the woman said the incident had greatly affected her health with her suffering severe panic attacks and anxiety.
The woman, who did not attend the hearing, said she did not feel safe at work and felt that someone could hurt her.
She said her relationship with her boyfriend also suffered, while she had also spent a large amount of money on psychotherapy.
The court heard that Alpha Bah had remained in custody ever since he was arrested on August 27th, 2021.
Counsel for the defendant, John Peart SC, said his client had come to Ireland in 2018 as part of a family reunification arrangement.
Mr Peart said Alpha Bah had no previous convictions.
He also informed the court that his client’s father had died shortly before his arrest, while his mother had died while he was in custody.
Judge Mary O’Malley Costello, noted Alpha Bah had been found guilty of serious offences by unanimous verdicts of a jury.
The judge said the defendant had violated the trust of the woman as her boyfriend’s flatmate.
She said the sexual assault was compounded by the fact that he had prevented her from leaving her bedroom.
The judge said it was hard to hear the victim describe how she did not feel safe in any part of her life and commended her for her bravery.
'Heartbroken and disappointed'
Judge O’Malley Costello also noted that Alpha Bah had submitted a letter to the court in which he declared he was “heartbroken and disappointed” at the jury’s verdict.
“It was all regret and remorse but no admission of guilt,” she added.
The judge acknowledged that drugs and alcohol had played no role in the offences.
The court heard that Alpha Bah had been assessed as being at a moderate risk of re-offending in relation to sexual assault and crimes involving violence.
Judge O’Malley Costello sentenced him to five years with the final 12 months suspended for the conviction for sexual assault for a period of two years on condition that he make himself available on release from prison for assessment for a treatment programme for people who commit sexual offences and violence against women.
The judge backdated the term of imprisonment to when Alpha Bah was first remanded in custody.
She also sentenced him to three years with the final 12 months suspended for false imprisonment with the term to run concurrently.
The judge remarked that being placed on the sex offenders register would also represent a significant punishment for his offences.
