A man has appeared in court charged with the sexual assault of a young girl whom he allegedly approached on a suburban Dublin street while she was with her friend.
The accused man was arrested in north Dublin on Wednesday, when his home was also searched.
He has appeared before the courts and has been remanded in custody after a bail application was declined amid Garda objections.
The accused man, who had worked as a Deliveroo driver, is also a suspect in two other incidents earlier this year during which inappropriate approaches were made to young girls.
READ MORE
It is alleged the suspect was working as a Deliveroo driver – a courier using an e-bike – at the time of the sexual assault and the two earlier inappropriate approach incidents.
All three occurred within a five-day period earlier this year in the same region of suburban Dublin.
The girl who was allegedly sexually assaulted by the man told gardaí he engaged her and her friend in conversation and asked them “could he do something”. It is alleged he pulled down her underwear and touched her, before using his phone.
He then “told her he was done and said goodbye”. After he left the area, the girls ran home and raised the alarm, with their parents then contacting the Garda.
The GPS data from the accused man’s Deliveroo app and bike suggested, though he left the immediate scene of the alleged offence, that he lingered in the vicinity for up to 30 minutes.
Garda Grainne Raggett told the court that GPS information had been accessed by the Garda investigation team and it placed the accused man’s bike at the scene of the alleged sexual assault, and the two other alleged incidents, at the relevant times.
The suspect, who is in his 20s, cannot be named at this time under law because the victim is a minor and because the charge relates to a sexual crime. Other details that may identify the victim also cannot be disclosed under legal rules governing cases involving an allegation of a sexual crime.
The suspect, who is from abroad, is charged with the sexual assault of the girl last month contrary to Section 2 of the Criminal Law (Rape) (Amendment) Act, 1990.
While he faces a charge of sexually assaulting a young girl, he is not facing criminal charges at this time relating to his alleged earlier approaches to young girls – in two different incidents in Dublin – while working for Deliveroo.
However, as he applied for bail at Wednesday’s court hearing, and the Garda objected, information about his background and alleged incidents he has been linked to were set out in court.
In one of the earlier incidents when the suspect allegedly approached a young girl in the street, the Dublin District Court was told the child managed to scream and run away. In the other case, the accused tried to grab a young girl’s hand but she ran away.
However, in the most serious incident, it is alleged the suspect pulled down a young girl’s underwear and touched her during a sexual assault, resulting in the criminal charge now before the courts.
Judge Michele Finan heard the accused man denies sexually assaulting the young girl. He concedes he was at the location in question, which was a laneway close to the alleged victim’s home.
He claimed in Garda interviews he had a brief interaction with the girl, and her friend, but only to let them pass him. He said he may have brushed against them as they passed him but denies sexually assaulting the child.
However, Raggett told the court the girl had been spoken to by specialist interviewers and alleged the suspect engaged her in conversation, pulled her underwear down and touched her hips and her skin in the area just below her navel.
Raggett added when the accused was arrested in Dublin on Wednesday and his home searched, a foreign driving licence linked to a deceased man was found. This, she said, gave rise to concerns the accused had access to fake documents.
Raggett also told the court after the accused was arrested, and questioned under caution, he was then charged and made no reply. However, while being interviewed he had denied the allegation of sexual assault.
Gardaí objected to bail as the suspect posed a flight risk, especially considering the seriousness of the charge. The court was told he had been in Ireland for about two years and had no legal status here. He had no ties to Ireland and all of his family members lived in his country of origin.
He no longer works as a Deliveroo driver. He had come from his home country to Ireland via the UK, the court was told. He was remanded in custody to appear before the court again next Wednesday, March 18th.
