Courts

‘What had I done to deserve this?’: Woman hopes reporting sexual assault by friend helps others

Man (27) jailed after pleading guilty to attack on then 18-year-old in Co Donegal in June 2019

Mr Justice Paul McDermott said the man was aware the victim was asleep at the time and through his actions, he had 'denied her fundamental entitlement' to refuse intimacy

Sonya McLean
Emer Dodd
Thu Jan 11 2024 - 16:12

A 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.

A 27-year-old man pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to a count of sexual assaulting the then 18-year-old 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 Róisín Lacey SC.

“What had I done to deserve this?” she asked. “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.

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“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 said she has since experienced suicidal thoughts and would not wish the feeling she had in the aftermath of the assault “on my worst enemy”.

“Nobody deserves that pain,” she said. “How could one person do this to another, especially someone you called a friend?”

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.

Imposing sentence, Mr Justice Paul McDermott said the man was aware the victim was asleep at the time and through his actions, he 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.

The judge 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, socialised regularly and that 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 change into. He had some more drink, but the woman did not, and the man 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 when on the couch and he started to touch her intimately. The woman asked him to stop because she wanted to go to sleep. He agreed and the interaction came to an end.

The woman 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 there and realised her shorts and underwear had been pulled down. She asked him what he was doing and said she was trying to sleep. He stopped, said he was sorry and the woman 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 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 made a complaint to gardaí the following day.

The accused was interviewed the following March and 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 was 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 and said his client takes full responsibility for the harm he has caused.

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