Two years in jail for sex assault in McDonald’s toilet

A man hid in the ladies’ toilet of a McDonald’s fast-food outlet in Cork and sexually assaulted a Spanish visitor.

A two-year jail sentence was imposed yesterday on the man who had kicked in the cubicle door, banged the woman’s head against the floor, and removed some of her clothing before the sexual attack.

Philip Kelly, aged 26 and from Cork, is now living at 23 Earl’s Court, Ardkeen, Waterford.

He had been on temporary release, from a three-year sentence for a physical assault on a woman, when he committed the sexual assault in McDoanld’s.

Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin said: “There are disturbing aspects of voyeuristic behaviour in the manner in which he secreted himself in the toilets, and waited for this lady to come in and the physical and sexual violence with which he set about her.”

The judge also said it was a matter of concern the accused had hid there for some time before the attack.

Det Garda Colin Greenway outlined the evidence at Cork Circuit Criminal Court where Kelly, formerly of 42 Glenfields Park, Ballyvolane, Cork, pleaded guilty to the sexual assault.

The detective garda said the crime was committed after 3.30am on August 4 last year at the outlet on St Patrick’s Street, Cork. The Spanish woman had gone into a cubicle in the female toilets and locked it.

“She heard a loud bang on the door. At first she thought it was another female patron. Then the door was hit so hard the lock on the door fell on the floor. She was tying her trousers when he grabbed her by the head and put her on the ground,” said Det Garda Greenway.

“She shouted for help. He removed her trousers and underwear. He banged her face and head on the ground and put his fingers in her vagina while he put his other hand over her face and mouth.

“She finally managed to escape. Two female eye- witnesses entered the toilets when they heard the screams for help. They went downstairs to get security. The security man held on to him until gardaí arrived and arrested him.

“He was later interviewed and made full admissions. He said he went into one cubicle to look at female patrons when they were using the other cubicle. He was in hiding in one and looking over the top of it into another cubicle when women were using it.”

Kelly had a previous conviction for physically assaulting a woman and had been jailed in October 2012. He was out on temporary release when he committed the offence in McDonald’s.

He also had an indecency conviction from 2011 where a woman was using the toilet at the main bus station in Cork City when she screamed on seeing a man over the cubicle partition looking down at her.

There was no assault involved and he received 130 hours of community service for that offence.

Kelly told gardaí he realised from the age of 16 that he had a problem with that kind of behaviour.

Defence barrister Sinéad Behan said the accused was dealing with the problem through a weekly one-day attendance at a course designed to address such issues.

She said the defendant’s parents were very concerned.

The victim did not make a more formal complaint and had since returned to Spain.