Sex offender has 10 years added to prison term for late night attack

A convicted sex offender who attempted to rape a woman during a late night attack in public has had 10 years added to the lengthy prison term he is serving for other attacks.

Slawomir Gierlowski (36) was jailed for 22½ years, with four years suspended, in 2018 for random outdoor attacks on three other women. Those attacks took place in the Clondalkin area between 2011 and 2016.

After a Central Criminal Court trial in May 2019, Gierlowski, of Galtymore Drive, Drimnagh, Dublin, was convicted of attempted rape, sexual assault and assault causing harm of a fourth victim on the night of December 18th, 2010. This attack took place in the city centre and is his first recorded attack.

Sentencing for those offences was adjourned while Gierlowski appealed the 2018 convictions and the severity of that sentence. The Court of Appeal dismissed these appeals in July.

Passing sentence on Thursday, Mr Justice Michael White said Gierlowski remains a serious threat to the safety of women. He noted that there was no acknowledgement from the defendant of his predatory behaviour.

Followed

Det Garda Rory O’Connor told the court that in December 2010 a woman was making her way home at around 3am when Gierlowski followed her into the courtyard of her apartment block and pushed her to the ground. He began choking her and punched her a number of times in the face.

The woman begged him to let her go while his hand remained on her throat. Gierlowski was on top of the woman and attempted to rape her before fleeing the scene. Detectives were able to get a DNA profile of the attacker from semen found on the victim’s skirt.

In May 2016, gardaí­ investigating a knife point attack on a woman in Clondalkin identified Gierlowski as the suspect. He was arrested and a DNA profile was generated. This was then matched to the semen from the 2010 attack as well as to DNA profiles retrieved during investigations into separate sexual assaults on women in the Clondalkin area in 2011 and 2015.

Gierlowski was subsequently convicted of three attacks on women in Clondalkin, two of which involved a sexual assault on women walking home after a night out.

At the sentence hearing in 2018, Judge Pauline Codd said the attacks, involving the use of a leather belt, a hunting knife, duct tape and cable ties, were brutal and primal.

She imposed consecutive sentences totalling 22 ½ years and suspended the final four years.

Unanimous decision

Gierlowski went on trial at the Central Criminal Court in May 2019 for the earliest attack. He was convicted by unanimous decision of the three charges of sexual assault, attempted rape and assault causing harm. He had denied all the charges.

Orla Crowe SC, defending, previously told the court that her client continues to maintain his innocence on all offences. Ms Crowe said her client was “doing reasonably well” in custody, is on “enhanced” prisoner status and was working in the laundry.

Mr Justice White said that in the absence of Gierlowski acknowledging his predatory behaviour, he remained a serious threat to the safety of women.

He set a headline sentence of 15 years for the attempted rape, but reduced this to 10 years. This sentence will begin on the completion of the term Gierlowski is already serving. He imposed concurrent sentences of five years for each of the other assaults.