When a stranger sexually assaulted Sarah Grace, it changed her life forever

Sarah Grace is adamant that the 2019 attack will not destroy her and that her experience of the criminal justice system will help other survivors of sexual attacks in the future

In July 2019, Sarah Grace (pictured) was brutally attacked by Ibrahim Elghynaoui while she slept in her own apartment. She is to publish a book in March detailing her journey from reporting the assault to seeing Elghynaoui jailed for 10 years.

When a stranger broke into the bedroom of Sarah Grace and sexually assaulted her in the summer of 2019, it changed her life forever.

But she is adamant that the attack on her in what should have been the safe environs of her own home will not destroy her. And she is just as adamant that her experience of the criminal justice system will help other survivors of sexual attacks in the future.

She was living in an apartment on Grand Canal Dock in Dublin when she was attacked in July 2019 by Ibrahim Elghynaoui, who was found guilty of aggravated sexual assault. He was handed down a 10-year prison sentence last March.

Almost a year after going public about her ordeal at the hands of Elghynaoui, she is now working on a document to help other victims of sex attacks.

And she is also awaiting the publication of a book with O’Brien Press, aimed at also educating people about the justice system on a step-by-step basis from when a sexual crime occurs to when it concludes with sentencing for the perpetrator.

She feels that focusing on these projects will help raise awareness about sexual violence but also help survivors negotiate the criminal justice system.

Following her attacker’s sentencing last year, Sarah wrote an open letter to the Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee, raising concerns about aspects of the criminal justice system.

She wrote that it is unacceptable that the notes from victims' private therapy sessions are disclosed in sexual violence trials, while she also says that victims should be able to give evidence from behind a screen. She raised concerns too that victims do not have legal representation to prepare them for trial or to defend their interests in a court case.

The open letter was followed up by a meeting with Ms McEntee, for whom she is full of praise.

Sarah says: “The meeting itself was very positive in my eyes and she is clearly genuinely invested in this which is reassuring. As part of her policy, they (Department of Justice officials) were going to look into a number of areas I had highlighted in my open letter.”

Since the meeting, she says she has spoken a number of times with the minister, since her return from maternity leave.

She expects a further call from her in January and says she is also working closely with the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in a bid to make the justice system more accessible to survivors.

She said: “I am drafting a kind of checklist, or a cheat sheet, for survivors in terms of how they approach the court process. There is a lot of information out there that is online that I didn’t find until long after my trial was over.” 

Sarah Grace: “Nobody tells you (what to wear) because they think it might be coaching a victim, but you should still be able to give some kind of guidelines.” 

She said she has asked Ms McEntee for more practical solutions as the information currently available is “super generic”.

As a solicitor herself, she is conscious that other survivors will have a lot less knowledge of the legal process than she had – and she admits that her own knowledge was scant.

She says the document she is working on is a step-by-step guide through the process, with advice included for friends and families of survivors.

She explains: “This includes simple things. 

For example, I kept asking how many people could I bring with me into the court – not just to the courtroom but also to the victim suite, and I could not get an answer for months. 

"Even in the weeks leading up to the trial, nobody could give me an answer.” 

During her own experience from when the attack occurred to when Elghynaoui was sentenced, she took notes for the checklist document which she will forward to Ms McEntee in January for input from officials from the Department of Justice, and from the Office of the DPP.

She said that the document is expected to be published as part of the Victims Charter from the Department of Justice. The Victims Charter website was launched by the department in February.

The document is also to be published online by the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre. She said it will provide survivors an idea of what to expect from the legal system.

For Sarah, something as simple as what to wear to court is something which she felt was important to include in the document.

She says: “Nobody tells you (what to wear) because they think it might be coaching a victim, but you should still be able to give some kind of guidelines.” 

Sarah says that for her, and for other survivors, it is helpful too to know the layout of the court including the location of the victims suite.

She explains: “When you go in, it is so overwhelming because you have no idea what you are walking into.” 

Sarah Grace: "There is a lot of information out there that is online that I didn’t find until long after my trial was over.” 

She adds: “The defence is 20 steps ahead of you, they know the rooms inside out, they know the process inside out, they are throwing words at you that you don’t understand. The purpose of the checklist is to make it more understandable and approachable for somebody who has not experienced this (legal system) at all.” 

She describes her forthcoming book as being a longer version of the checklist, with each chapter focusing on different elements of the criminal justice procedure.

She says: “It includes from the second the gardaí arrive, the things to know about a garda investigation or the things to know when you are going into a medical forensic examination and all the way through to PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and protecting your counselling records, and anonymity. That is due to come out in March.” 

Support:

National Rape Crisis Helpline 1800 778 888 

Women’s Aid National Freephone Helpline 1800 341 900

- If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please click here for a list of support services.