Warning to women after ‘sinister’ incident reported in Sutton

A NORTHSIDE woman has issued a warning to walkers in the Sutton/Howth area following a sinister incident, which gardaí have confirmed they are investigating.

The woman, who did not wish to be identified, said the incident occurred when she set out for a stroll from Sutton on March 18.  

“It was still daylight at 6.30pm and fellow ramblers had walked past me at the Martello Tower only minutes before,” she told Northside People.

“Just before the junction in the path where you can choose the cliff path or the hill path, a man appeared, coming down from the hill, walking towards me.

“Instantly I knew something wasn’t right. He changed his gait and slowed down to size me up. Aware I was in a potentially dangerous situation, I squared my shoulders, walked tall and locked eyes with him. I clocked him for about six seconds before he passed me.

“It was in this time that I noticed his fly was down and against his dark jeans I could tell he was wearing no underwear. I have 20/20 vision and it was still daylight so the visibility was good. His behaviour was not that of a flasher but a sexual predator – he was trying to intimidate me and gauge my vulnerability.

“He walked past me (one metre apart) and continued on towards the road. After 10 yards I looked back – he had stopped in his tracks and had turned to watch me. He was now in between me and the road, blocking my escape.

“I knew if I continued down the cliff path I was in serious danger. There were gorse bushes on either side of me, and a cliff edge.

“I turned to face him, squared my shoulders, stared at him aggressively and got straight on my phone. It was enough to deter him and he turned and started walking towards the road.”

The woman said there was no phone signal on this stretch of the walk.
“I had to pretend to be talking on my phone until I got through to my Mum who talked to me until I was out of danger,” she said.  

“In a bizarre turn of events, I stalked him back to the road and towards what he probably thought was an ambush with the gardaí.

“Those 400 metres back to safety felt like a lifetime. He took the path through the field, fumbling on his phone.

“I took the path along the edge, by the tower, walking fast to pass him out and reach the road first. At one point we were parallel and he kept looking over at me, then back to his phone. As I neared the road, he hung back and I didn’t look back again.

“Once I was on a residential street I phoned Howth Garda Station and they came down straight away to investigate but unfortunately he was gone.”
The woman said the man was in his early 40s, approximately 5’10, of medium build, with dark brown hair.

“From recollection, he was average looking with no distinctive facial features, just a full shaped face, dark eyes, low set eye brows, average size nose, thin lips and a menacing stare,” she said.  

“That evening gardaí came to my house to take a statement. I have to commend the local gardaí on their professionalism and the speed in which they acted.”

The woman said she regularly encounters other women walking this route alone at this time of the evening.

“It’s one of the reasons I felt safe on the route,” she added.

“Howth cliff walk is one of the most popular walks in Dublin, if not the country. The following week I walked the route with my housemates but I won’t walk it alone again, not that stretch.”

A spokesman for the Garda Press Office told Northside People: “Gardaí at Howth are investigating an alleged incident that occurred close to the Martello Tower, Sutton on Friday, March 18 shortly before 7pm.”