Man (34) charged with sexual assault of teenage girl in Fermoy

A man has been charged with sexually assaulting a teenage girl in Fermoy, Co Cork on Monday.

Kamil Szymczak (34) appeared before Mallow District Court in connection with the incident which happened at 1.20pm in the Chapel Hill area of the town.

Det Garda David Forsythe told Judge Alec Gabbett it was alleged that a male attacker had touched the undergarments of 16-year-old girl.

He said that Mr Szymczak, a Polish national, made no reply when the charge was put to him under caution. The court heard that the accused lives in Fermoy and has been in Ireland for almost 10 years.

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He and Sgt Linda O’Leary said gardaí were opposed to bail for the accused given the nature of the attack and the fact it involved a juvenile. Det Garda Forsythe said it was a serious offence which had a maximum penalty of 14-years on conviction.

Defence solicitor Ciaran O’Keeffe asked Det Garda Forsythe if he would characterise the attack as a “stupid incident” and as being at the lower end of the scale. The Garda declined to be drawn on the matter.

Mr O’Keeffe said that his client had been fully cooperative with gardaí investigating the matter. He said that Mr Szymczak had a history of drug and alcohol use and was receiving medical help for these problems.

Judge Gabbett said it was a serious matter where it was alleged that a man had gone up behind a juvenile female “and tried to forcibly remove her undergarments.”

“I don’t see how you could not see that as serious?” he said.

Judge Gabbett approved free legal aid for the accused but declined to grant him bail. He remanded the accused to appear before the court on February 15th next via video-link.