Woman jailed for sex assault during robbery

By Sonya McLean and David O’Sullivan

A woman who sexually assaulted an acquaintance after forcing her to strip naked at a Luas stop over a dispute about money has been jailed for three years.

The 49-year-old woman, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim, appeared before Mr Justice Paul McDermott at the Central Criminal Court last Friday after pleading guilty to sexual assault and robbery at a Luas stop in Dublin on January 26, 2023.

A co-accused man has denied the charges and will stand trial later.

The court heard that both of the women’s lives had been “blighted by drugs” and that they shared a taxi that night when the victim refused to allow the co-accused man to get into the vehicle.

A local detective told Maurice Coffey SC, prosecuting, that the woman (38) was found some time later very upset and in a state of undress at a Luas stop.

The woman told gardai that there had been an argument over money and she had been dragged out of the taxi by her hair, before being punched and made to strip naked.

The woman’s legs were then held open by the man while the woman searched her vaginal area.

The attackers threatened to kill her and throw her into the canal.

The court heard the assault wasn’t committed for the purpose of sexual gratification, but “to see if there was something worth stealing.”

Nearby people came to the victim’s assistance.

One man, armed with a golf club, demanded that the attackers to return a stolen mobile phone, which they did.

Many people who had witnessed the attack came forward to speak to gardai, with one nearby resident providing gardai footage from their phone.

Gardai also secured CCTV footage from the local area which led to both accused being nominated as suspects.

This accused was arrested but the detective said she “maintained her right to silence.”

She has 49 previous convictions, including a number for drug type offences.

The victim was examined at a nearby Sexual Assault Treatment Unit and was found to have many bruises and cuts to her body including her legs and forehead but she had no injuries to her vagina.

A victim impact statement was read into the record in which the woman said she has since developed a fear of going outside and using public transport.

She has experienced social anxiety and is anxious seeing her friends and family.

She has had trouble eating and sleeping and suffers flashbacks.

She has been attending a mental health nurse because of “thoughts of self-harm.”

The woman said she has also relapsed into the abuse of hard drugs and has had to move addresses three times.

“It has affected my whole life and my relationships,” she said before she added that her “self-confidence has gone and I feel dirty.”

She said she has suffered trauma from the incident and her whole life has changed. She is depressed and cannot leave the house.

“It has ruined my life. I have been torn apart. It has broken me physically, mentally and spiritually. I have break downs all the time,” she continued.

The detective agreed with Anne-Marie Lawlor SC, defending, that her client entered her plea at a very early stage and has “expressed remorse.”

He accepted that both women had their “lives blighted by drugs” and that Ms Lawlor’s client has “made strenuous efforts to turn her life around.”

It was further accepted that she was under the influence of intoxicants at the time of the attack.

Ms Lawlor said there was a lengthy and positive governor’s report before the court.

In sentencing, Mr Justice Paul McDermott said the attackers showed “complete disregard for the physical and mental integrity of the victim” and that the attack was committed on an “already vulnerable person.”

He said the attackers co-operated in a “vicious,” “humiliating” and “degrading” robbery which showed “the depths to which they were willing to stoop.”

He commended the people who intervened and protected the woman from being further assaulted.

Mitigating factors in sentencing included the very early plea of guilty and that the attacker has expressed “sincere regret and remorse.”

Mr Justice McDermott sentenced the woman to four years imprisonment but suspended the final twelve months on strict conditions.