Woman who answered online job advert sexually assaulted by bogus businessman

Gardaí are tracking down a bogus businessman who sexually assaulted a mother after she applied online for a job in a non-existant cleaning company.

The man, described as young and well-dressed, travelled to the woman’s home in Tallaght, west Dublin, under the pretence of giving her an interview.

Garda sources said the interview began formally, but that the woman became concerned at some of the replies he gave to questions she asked about the position and the company.

At this stage, the man sexually assaulted the woman before walking out the front door to his car.

The attack happened at around 11am on Thursday. The woman alerted gardaí and she was brought to the Sexual Assault Treatment Unit at the Rotunda Hospital.

Senior Garda sources said they had not come across the modus operandi before, whereby an attacker would put up an ad on an online site in a bid to lure unsuspecting victims.

Gardaí conducted house-to-house inquiries and neighbours reported seeing the man leave, but failed to take any registration details of the car.

Detectives have gathered a description of a car, but are not sure it is the offender’s vehicle, and are not releasing the details at this stage.

They are checking local CCTV cameras and any private cameras outside shops which might have captured the car.

The man is described as clean-shaven with dark hair, aged in his late 20s or early 30s. He wore a shirt, tie, and a jacket.

Gardaí are warning women applying for jobs not to meet any prospective employer in a private place, such as their home. Instead, they should meet them in an office where they can be seen, or in a public place such as a pub, hotel, or cafe.

It is understood that the man put the advertisement up online from a computer in an internet cafe, rather than from a personal computer.