A woman has said she was only doing her job when a man sexually assaulted her while she was working as cabin crew on a Ryanair flight.
In a victim impact statement, the woman said she was “sexually assaulted in a tight and confined space” where colleagues were also present.
She said her sense of safety and peace has been “completely shattered”.
“I was only doing my job when this happened”, she said.
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She said she had fallen in love with flying when she joined Ryanair, but has since resigned.
The woman said she felt there was a “layer of shame over me” and “still feels disgusting”.
“The road to recovery feels long and unreachable,” she said, saying she was taking it one day at a time.
“Life hasn’t been the kindest to me and what happened is an extra heavy load.”
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard on Thursday how the incident occurred about 40 minutes before the plane was due to land at Dublin.
Aaron Brady (31), of Main Street, Killeshandra, Co Cavan, pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting the woman on the flight.
The court was told he had no memory of the incident and had a problem with drink, which he was addressing.
Brady told the court he drank around five bottles of wine with his partner at the airport, before boarding the flight, and potentially between 12 and 15 mini bottles of alcohol during the flight. He said he had not had a drink in a year.
Brady said he was “really, really sorry, sincerely” and said his offending was “out of character”.
“I can’t believe it, I’m so sorry for the trauma it has caused you. It’s not me at all. I’m really, really sorry,” he said.
Judge Jonathan Dunphy asked him if he had been banned for life from Ryanair flights, with Brady telling him the ban was for five years.
“I understand it is for life”, the judge said.
The court heard the woman also faced financial losses of more than €3,000 due to the incident, including sick leave, voluntary absences and her resignation.
The judge asked if the woman had to bear those costs instead of her employer, with the prosecution confirming she did.
Keith Spencer, defending, said the amount of alcohol consumed by Brady before boarding and on the flight “is almost mind-boggling”.
He said his client deeply regretted what happened, did not intend it to occur and was ashamed and apologetic.
Spencer asked the court to consider his client’s early guilty plea, good work record in an ice-cream factory and the contents of a probation report.
He said his client had €5,000 available as a gesture of remorse, which the court heard the woman was willing to accept.
Spencer said his client was willing to repay the woman’s expenses and could save another €5,000 if given more time.
The judge said he would adjourn the case until June for finalisation to allow Brady address the woman’s expenses outlined in the victim impact statement.
He directed that the €5,000 should be paid over within the next 24 hours.
He said he would “somewhat reluctantly” remand Brady on continuing bail, so he could continue to work. The judge said the court’s concern was the losses experienced by the woman.
Addressing the woman, the judge said he was grateful for her attendance and said he wanted to finalise the case “in the right way, so that everyone can move on from this”.
