Further six months to serve after sexual assault reactivation

By Natasha Reid and Niamh O’Donoghue

A 63-year-old handed a three-year sentence for sexual assault earlier this week has been told they will spend a further six months in custody.

Ronaldo Otto, who is transitioning to female and identifies as Samantha Otto, was before Dublin Circuit Criminal Court yesterday for breaching the terms of a three-year suspended sentence imposed for throwing a cup of boiling water over the face of another casino customer over six years ago.

Judge Pauline Codd took into account that Otto, who has an address at Grosvenor Square, Rathmines, is being held in a men’s prison and finds this distressing.

Otto committed the sexual assault on the 18-year-old on October 26, 2022, while serving the suspended part of the sentence for the assault on the man in the casino.

A jury found Otto guilty of the sexual assault of the male student following a trial in May.

In the casino incident, Otto had pleaded guilty to assault causing harm on April 27, 2019 and received a suspended sentence a year and a half later.

Detective Garda Pauline Collier told the court that the incident took place at the Empire Casino on Burgh Quay in Dublin.

The injured party knew the defendant as Samantha from attending the casino.

They had an altercation that morning, and the defendant pushed him in his chair in front of a slot machine, calling him an asshole.

The injured party walked out of the casino, calling Otto crazy.

The man arrived back later, and Otto approached him and apologised for the behaviour.

However, the defendant then went into the customer kitchen area, filled up a cup of boiling water and returned to where the man was seated.

Otto pulled the man’s head back and poured the boiling water on his face.

Otto admitted the offence and received a three-year suspended sentence in October 2020.

Judge Codd noted today that the prosecution garda in the other case had said that the casino assault was to do with sexual rejection.

However, Det Gda Collier explained that there had been sexual advances by Otto over text messages, but this had been months earlier, and the injured party had indicated that he was just interested in friendship.

Pieter Le Vert BL, defending, pointed out that his client had been sentenced on Monday, and is being held in Mountjoy.

“You see today, she appears not as a female,” he said.

“That causes her considerable distress. She’s always very careful about her appearance when she appears in court.”

He asked the judge to be as lenient as she possibly could in deciding whether to reactivate any or all of the three years originally suspended.

Judge Codd noted that the sexual assault had occurred two years into the sentence for the casino assault, and said that Otto had acted in a sexually predatory manner to a young man waiting to go into college.

“I take into account he’s biologically a male person, who identifies as female and has undergone certain steps towards transition, and that being in a male prison is difficult for someone in the accused’s position,” she said.

She reactivated six months of the sentence and suspended the balance for two and a half years.

The judge directed that this sentence should run consecutive to the three-year sentence imposed on Monday for the sexual assault of the teenager.

“The accused should undertake rehabilitation in respect of gender-based violence and sexual offending,” she said, noting that Otto was already on the Sex Offender’s register.

“They should place themselves under probation supervision for two and a half years from the date of release, and undergo therapy,” she said.

“That’s because there is some sort of nexus between both offences.”

Mr Le Vert explained to his client that she now had to enter a bond for the suspended portion.

“Samantha, stand up,” he said.

“Do you Rolando Otto acknowledge yourself so bound?” asked the registrar.

“I do,” replied the accused, while rubbing away tears.