Man who sexually assaulted sleeping flatmate jailed for 3 years

By Isabel Hayes

A man who sexually assaulted his flatmate as she lay sleeping on the couch has been jailed for three years.

Lucas Da Silva Cruz (30), now of Richmond Road, Fairview, Dublin 3, was living with the woman and 11 other people in a three-bedroomed Dublin house when the assault took place.

He was found guilty of one count of sexually assaulting the woman on July 4, 2019, following a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court trial in January.

The prosecution told the court there was no objection to Da Silva Cruz being named but the woman has asked that her own name not be published.

Sentencing the man yesterday, Judge Orla Crowe said it was a breach of trust on a sleeping woman by a man who had previously been kind to her.

The judge said it was a frightening experience for the woman carried out in her own home where she should have felt safe.

Judge Crowe said the complainant had suffered considerable and lasting effects as a result of this offence.

She was unable to share this with her family because of the upset it would cause to them.

The judge noted Da Silva Cruz accepted the verdict of jury and has expressed remorse.

She also noted he was a non-national who had no visitors since being in the Midlands Prison. He is attending the school in prison.

She set a headline sentence of four years but handed down a three-year jail term and backdated it to January 17 last for time spent in custody before placing him on the sex offenders register.

Detective Garda PJ Gallagher told Jane Murphy BL, prosecuting, that the three-bedroom house in question housed a total of 13 Brazilian nationals, with men and women sharing rooms and sleeping in bunk beds.

When the complainant in the case, then aged 23, moved into the house, she was not entirely comfortable with this living situation and often slept on the sofa instead.

Da Silva Cruz was one of her flatmates and while they did not know each other particularly well, their relationship was cordial, the court heard.

On the night in question, the housemates had a barbecue in the garden and were socialising.

Alcohol was not a factor in the case, and the complainant was drinking coke.

At around 1.30am she went to bed, letting her flatmates know on the group WhatsApp chat that she would be using the sofa.

She woke at around 4am to find her trousers had been pulled down and Da Silva Cruz was performing oral sex on her.

She kicked her legs a couple of times until he got up and left the room.

The woman went back to her own bedroom and confided in a flatmate the next morning.

When arrested by gardaí, Da Silva Cruz said it was consensual.

In a victim impact statement read out on her behalf, the woman said she struggles with anxiety sleepless nights and recurrent nightmares since the assault.

She said she has feelings of anger, sadness and vulnerability and needs regular therapy.

She said she is often withdrawn from people and social situations.

She said she is very lucky to have a partner who cares for her and is now pregnant, but what should have been one of the happiest moments of her life has been overshadowed by the assault and the trial.

She said coming to Ireland, which started out as a dream, has since become so much more. “After the jury saw the truth in me, Ireland, already my home, became my refuge,” she said.

“Ireland has given me justice and for that I will always be grateful.”

Gerard Charleton BL, defending, said his client has no previous convictions.

He now accepts the jury verdict and had a letter of apology in court.

He left the house share shortly after the incident and is no longer in touch with his former housemates, who were like family to him, counsel said.

Da Silva Cruz works in IT, but resigned from his job upon being convicted.

This has caused financial hardship, as he was supporting his elderly mother back home in Sao Paolo, the court heard.

Judge Crowe noted Da Silva Cruz had no previous convictions and has not been in trouble since.

She noted he was polite and co-operative with gardai and had a job right up until the trial.

However, the victim impact statement stated this offending had a profound impact on the injured party.

She had considerable expenses for medical attention and therapy and had suffered anxiety, sleepless nights, struggled to deal with lack of trust and couldn’t tell her parents because of the impact it would have on them.

“What makes the matter most egregious is when she pulled up her trousers he tried to pull them down again,” said Judge Crowe.