A man accused of sexually assaulting a girl in Dublin suffered head injuries after being confronted by up to 40 “vigilantes”, a court has heard.
Anatol Botnari (23), was arrested on Saturday night and taken to Ballymun Garda station.
Gardaí charged the traffic maintenance worker, from Moldova, with the sexual assault of a teenage girl in the city’s northside on February 4th.
He was held pending his appearance on Monday at Dublin District Court before Judge Ciaran Liddy, who set €750 bail with a range of conditions.
Rail disruption hell: ‘There has not been one day without delays on the train’
The top 25 women’s sporting moments of the year: top spot revealed with Katie Taylor, Rhasidat Adeleke and Kellie Harrington featuring
Father’s U-turn in a will left son who took care of him with a pittance
The Guildford Four’s Paddy Armstrong: ‘People thought I was going to be bitter and twisted when I came out of prison’
Detective Garda Conor Garland told Judge Liddy he made no reply to the charge.
Objecting to bail, he cited flight risk concerns and said the accused who has given an address at Sorrel Heath, Clonsilla, in Dublin has been in Ireland since September.
He told the court the man was accused of sexual assault of a juvenile. He alleged that there were witnesses to the incident, and he was on CCTV close to the scene.
He said the accused provided two addresses.
The court heard when the first was checked, “the person at that address confirmed that the accused does not live there”.
Cross-examined by defence solicitor Paddy McGarry, Det Garland confirmed the accused did not have a bench warrant history and that he and the witnesses were not known to each other.
The detective garda said that his main issue was the address. He also said he was unsure of the accused’s true identity and was waiting to hear back from Interpol.
He agreed with the solicitor that Mr Botnari was initially allowed to stay at his first address to get a PPS number, but he no longer lived there.
He said Mr Botnari could not name the second address but was able to locate it on Google maps in Ballyfermot. The court heard he claimed he and his brother worked in road traffic maintenance, and they both lived with and paid rent to a family there.
Det Garland said that address was checked too, but the homeowners told gardaí the accused did not live there.
He accepted, however, that they were not in court.
Det Garland agreed with the defence that the accused had to be hospitalised for head wounds “due to people at the scene”.
The solicitor described them as a “vigilante group”, but the officer said he did not know they were. However, he confirmed that the accused received medical treatment.
He could not say if members of the group of 30 – 40 were among the witnesses who made statements.
Pleading for bail, the solicitor argued that a lack of an address was not enough reason to deny bail. He asked the judge to note that his client, who has the presumption of innocence, had given two addresses and details about jobs he held.
He said the accused could find hostel accommodation and provide a new contact number because his phone was lost during the alleged incident.
He also added that it was hoped the accused’s brother could provide financial support to his client, though he was not in court.
The court heard that Mr Botnari used a Romanian passport which he claimed he left in the house in Ballyfermot.
Judge Liddy noted the Garda objections, but he said conditions would alleviate his concerns about evading justice.
He set cash bail in Mr Botnari’s bond of €750 and ordered him to surrender his passport and stay away from parts of north Dublin and witnesses. He warned him he must sign on daily at a Garda station and provide an address to the Garda within 48 hours.
The judge granted legal aid to the accused, who had not yet indicated a plea. He did not speak during the hearing and listened to the proceedings with help of an interpreter.
He was remanded in custody with consent to bail to appear at Cloverhill District Court on Friday. The judge said there were reporting restrictions for the victim.