Man who sexually assaulted teenage boy in a gym changing room given suspended sentence and ordered to pay his victim €5,000

By Isabel Hayes

A HR worker who sexually assaulted a teenage boy in a gym changing room has been given a suspended sentence and ordered to pay his victim €5,000.

Dario Maradiaga Flores (33) pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to one count of sexual assault in April 2025.

It is an offence that carries a maximum sentence of 14 years.

Garda Michael Curtin told Carol Doherty BL, prosecuting, that the victim in the case – a 16-year-old boy – had just used the gym and was in the changing room when Flores approached him and groped his genitals through his clothing.

Flores was “smirking” while he did so, the court heard.

When the teenager immediately protested loudly, Flores appeared embarrassed and apologised profusely before leaving the gym quickly.

He left various items behind him, including some clothing and a water bottle.

The teenager reported the incident to staff who contacted gardaí and Flores was traced through CCTV footage and his gym swipe card.

When interviewed by gardaí, he was “candid” and admitted he “grabbed (the victim’s) dick”. He said it was by accident.

Flores, originally from Honduras, but with an address at Maplewood Park, Tallaght, Dublin 24, has no previous convictions in either jurisdiction, the court heard.

A victim impact statement was handed into court but not read aloud.

Karl Moran BL, defending, said this was a “fleeting incident” which was not prolonged in nature.

He submitted the victim’s age was an aggravating factor but that the victim looked older than he was – to which Gda Curtin agreed.

Flores has been in a stable relationship for nearly a year and his partner was in court to support him.

In his plea of mitigation, Mr Moran said Flores fully understands the seriousness of the offence and that “in one moment of madness, he caused significant distress to the victim”.

“He catastrophically misread the situation,” defence counsel said.

“The victim clearly did not invite attention to himself and (Flores) caused harm to the victim.”

Flores’s intention to stay in the country is now “ruined” and he has paid a significant price for his offending, the court was told.

He has a degree in psychology and was working in HR at the time of this offence, but lost his job in the wake of it.

He is now working on a farm, the court heard.

He is active in his community including his local church, a gay men’s choir and rugby, defence counsel said.

Sentencing him today, Judge Martin Nolan said that “for reasons known only to the defendant, the defendant without any invitation groped the injured party”.

The victim was left “shocked” as well as “frighted and stunned”, the judge said.

“I have no doubt he suffered some trauma as a result of this crime”.

In mitigation, he noted Flores co-operated with the investigation, pleaded guilty and has shown remorse.

He said he believes Flores is unlikely to re-offend and has lost his job and possibly his status in the country as a result of his offending.

The judge said that as a result, he had come to the conclusion that Flores does not deserve a custodial term.

He handed down a sentence of two and a half years which he suspended in full on a number of conditions, including that Flores pay a sum of €5,000 to the victim within six weeks.

“The financial sanction is to punish him and to help the injured party if he wants to receive it,” the judge said, adding the money should go to charity if the victim doesn’t want it.