A man who admitted to his former partner that he sexually assaulted her while she slept has been handed a suspended prison sentence.
The 27-year-old Dublin man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his victim, pleaded guilty to two sample counts of sexual assault on dates between January 1st, 2016, and June 30th, 2017.
The investigating garda told Roisin Lacey SC, prosecuting, that the man and the injured party, who was then 18, were in a relationship at the time.
The court heard the man's actions included kissing, fondling, touching, touching her genital area outside her clothing, and rubbing against her, while she slept.
These incidents occurred regularly throughout their relationship. The victim would move or pretend to be asleep in an attempt to stop him.
When their relationship ended, the man apologised for his behaviour, but did not elaborate further. In February 2019, the victim confronted the man and recorded their conversation with his permission. The man admitted touching the woman inappropriately while she slept and apologised.
The injured party gave a copy of the recording to gardaí when she made a formal complaint.
The man was interviewed voluntarily and later provided a prepared statement to gardaí. He pleaded guilty on a trial date, though this was indicated in advance. He has no previous convictions and has not come to recent negative garda attention.
Imposing sentence, Mr Justice David Keane said it was an aggravating feature that these charges represented a pattern of offending over an 18-month period. He also noted the impact of the offences on the victim and set a headline sentence of four years on each count.
He handed the man a two-year sentence on each count to run concurrently. He then suspended the sentence in full for two years on strict conditions including that the man place himself under the supervision of the Probation Services for two years.
The investigating garda agreed with Conor Devally SC, defending, that his client expressed remorse and offered to drop out of college on the recording. She also agreed that the woman told him on the recording she was not sure if she would make a formal complaint.
The garda agreed that the victim provided a written statement in which she said the man was supportive when she was dealing with anxiety.
The court heard the man had brought a sum of money to court to cover counselling costs incurred by the victim, estimated at €7,500, which she was willing to accept.
Prolonged agony
In her victim impact statement, the woman said the sexual abuse had significantly affected her physically and emotionally.
She said the man's delay in pleading guilty had “prolonged her agony” and meant she had to prepare to give evidence at a trial during which her character would be questioned. The woman said she expected to feel relief when she heard the guilty pleas, but instead felt numb.
She said she can no longer enjoy the Harry Potter franchise of films which had brought her “so much joy as a child” and other favourite TV shows which played in the background during these incidents.
The victim said she did not want to give the man “more power than he had taken” from her and hoped he would understand what he had done and its continuing effects on her.
Mr Devally submitted to the court that his client had limited insight that what he was doing at the time was wrong. His client's actions showed “recklessness and disregard” for the woman's autonomy, but he has since developed an understanding of his “pure ignorance”. He has had other relationships since, which have been more respectful.
The man's parents were present in court to support him.
Mr Devally asked the court for as much leniency as possible for his client. He asked Mr Justice Keane to take into consideration his client's age at the time, his expressions of remorse and a number of testimonials handed into the court.
Mr Justice Keane said it was “very difficult to give significant weight in mitigation” to testimonials as they tended to be “motivated by personal relationships”. He noted that friends and family may wish to think well of an individual and as such, the court is not receiving objective evidence.
Mr Devally submitted that testimonials had value in providing background information about an accused person. Ms Lacey told the court she had discussed the testimonials with the victim and there was no requirement for them to be read in open court.
Mr Justice Keane said the mitigation included the man's guilty plea, which came at a “reasonably early stage in the legal process” and spared the victim the ordeal of giving evidence at trial.
He said he also accepted “in some regard” the defence's submission in relation to the man's youth and immaturity at the time of the offence.
The judge also noted the man's previous good character and efforts to live a useful life. However, Mr Justice Keane expressed concerns about the contents of the probation report, which suggests the man has limited insight into his offending.
He directed the man to place himself under the supervision of the Probation Services for two years, engage with any recommended sexual offender treatment programmes, disclose any intimate relationships and co-operate with safe-guarding measures.
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.
