Man gets 6 years for sexual assault on neighbour

A MAN who sexually assaulted his neighbour in her front garden has been sentenced to six years at the Central Criminal Court.

The attack came to an end when two youths, who had been at a house party with the man earlier that night, heard the woman’s screams and came to her assistance.

The 19-year-old Dublin man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his victim, pleaded guilty to sexual assault and assault causing harm on September 5, 2009.

The 24-year-old woman was walking home from a night out when her attacker asked her for a cigarette before grabbing her by the hand and asking for a kiss.

She refused and said her boyfriend was on his way but the man became aggressive and pushed her to the ground in her garden, saying: “I have been dying to get at you for ages.”

Garda Ivor Wilkinson told Paul Greene, prosecuting, that the man was playing with his penis and threatened to kick the woman’s teeth in when she tried to get up from the ground.

The man managed to pull her leggings and underwear down to her knees while he kicked and punched her about the face. He threatened both oral sex and sex before he touched the woman around her genitals.

The woman continued to scream and the two youths came to her assistance and challenged him. He then got up and ran away.

The woman stated in her victim impact statement that she still suffers from nightmares and flashbacks and “keeps picturing his face”.

She said her innocence is gone, she is a lot angrier and is a totally different person. She is also embarrassed that her neighbours know about the attack.

A letter written by the man to the woman was read in court in which he stated: “I express my sincerest heartfelt regret… I feel I deserve to be punished for this truly horrendous crime.”

Mr Justice Paul Carney said the “inherent gravity” of the offence, the threats he made and the victim impact evidence warranted a six-year custodial sentence.

He suspended the final two years, on condition that the man keep away from the woman. He also ordered 18 months’ post-release supervision and declared the man a sex offender.