Man charged with sexual assault of Cork woman as she walked home from bus stop

The accused was remanded in custody with consent to bail on terms set by the judge

The woman was allegedly attacked from behind, knocked to the ground and sexually assaulted as she walked from a bus stop on Blackrock Road. File picture: Denis Minihane

A woman in her 40s was attacked from behind, knocked to the ground and sexually assaulted as she walked from a bus stop on Blackrock Road in Cork to her home at around midnight on Tuesday.

It was only when members of the public left their homes and came to her assistance that the attacker fled the scene.

Detective Garda Sinéad Glanville outlined these allegations as she objected to bail being granted to a 31-year-old man who was arrested and charged with sexual assault and robbery of the woman’s phone.

“The injured party was walking home from the bus stop when she was attacked from behind by a person unknown to her," the detective said.

"She was knocked to the ground and touched several times in intimate areas outside her clothing.

“He attempted to touch her inside her clothing but she fought her attacker. The victim screamed. 

"Such was the level of screaming that members of the public came from their homes to her assistance. He jumped up, grabbed her phone and ran away,” Det. Garda Glanville said.

Judge David Waters said he would refuse jurisdiction to deal with the case at district court level.

Cross-examined by defence barrister, Mahon Corkery, the detective agreed that the accused had no convictions of any kind.

Bail ruling

Judge Waters said in relation to the objection to bail that a defendant with no previous convictions would be given bail in the High Court even though the matter was extremely serious.

The judge granted bail on condition that the accused would live at an address outside Cork City, remain outside Cork City except for court and legal appointments, have no contact with the injured party and keep a curfew between 9pm and 8am. 

Judge Waters remarked that this would not be a hardship for the accused as the evidence was that he is unemployed.

He was remanded in custody with consent to bail on those terms and he will also require an independent surety in the sum of €10,000 to be approved by the court. The 31-year-old was remanded in custody with consent to that bail.