Man (43) jailed for attempted rape of woman outside nightclub in Dublin

Eimear Dodd

A man who assaulted a woman, then attempted to rape her outside a Dublin nightclub, has been jailed for eight years.

The 43-year-old was convicted of sexual assault and attempted rape on a date in March 2024, following a trial at the Central Criminal Court earlier this year.

He had pleaded guilty before the start of the trial to assault causing harm to the complainant on the same date.

The man has no previous convictions and has been in custody since his arrest.

The court heard the man, who is from a European country, arrived in Ireland for work several weeks before this incident occurred.

The man can't be named to protect the woman's right to anonymity.

In a victim impact statement read to the court by prosecuting senior counsel, Eilis Brennan, the woman, who is Ukrainian, said she thought she was “much stronger”, but has been really badly affected by what happened.

She said she doesn't go out socially anymore and is also afraid for her daughter. The woman said she had to give up work afterwards as she couldn't concentrate. She said she hasn't worked since then and her income has now reduced to €38 a week.

The woman said she has developed issues with her back “as a direct result” of what happened, but has been unable to see a doctor or attend a hospital as she doesn't have access to a medical card as a Ukrainian refugee.

She said she has also been experiencing seizures and found the trial process difficult, adding that she “never had such stress or nerves in my life”.

Sentencing the man on Friday, Mr Justice Tony Hunt said this was an attempted rape that was “profoundly disturbing, degrading, primitive”.

“She was subjected to a deeply disturbing and humiliating experience and has been very damaged by this,” he said.

He set a headline sentence of 10 years, which he reduced to nine years, taking the “few” mitigating factors into account, including the man's guilty plea and lack of previous convictions.

He said if this had been a rape, he would have set a headline sentence of 13 years.

The judge suspended the final year of the nine-year sentence on two conditions – that the man have no contact – direct or indirect – with the woman ever again and that upon his release from custody, he leave the State and not return for a period of 14 years.

The man entered into the bond, agreeing to these terms.

An investigating garda said that the woman had been in contact with the defendant's roommate and arranged to meet him the night before this incident occurred in Dublin city centre.

The woman brought a friend with her, while the defendant also joined his roommate. The woman later went back to the men's apartment after her friend had left.

The court was told there was drinking and socialising, and the woman stayed the night.

The following day, there was more drinking and socialising before they went to a Dublin nightclub.

CCTV from the nightclub showed the man approach the injured party at various points during the night. While there was some hugging, the court heard it was clear from the footage that the woman pushed him away and left him each time.

Towards the end of the evening, the complainant was outside the nightclub with the man, as his roommate had left.

She was sitting on the pavement outside the club. The man left, then returned and pulled the woman up. He ushered her into an alcove, where the pair were off camera.

It was at this point that the man sexually assaulted the woman. He also put his hand over her mouth, telling her that no one could hear her.

The footage then showed the woman struggling with the man, who punched her in the face. She then fell to the ground.

The man got on top of the woman and attempted to rape her.

Two witnesses heard her screaming, saw a struggle and the man getting on top of the woman. One of these witnesses also saw the man's penis.

They called the gardaí.

The man was interrupted by the witnesses shouting and a passing car. He then left the scene.

When gardaí arrived, the woman's face was covered with blood. She said she lost consciousness and was afraid her teeth were broken.

The man admitted during a garda interview that he'd possibly raped the woman when shown the CCTV.

He did not maintain this position at trial and took the stand to deny sexually assaulting the woman in the alcove, saying he was trying to get her a taxi.

He also denied trying to rape the woman and said he was trying to check she was breathing.

The investigating garda agreed with Vincent Heneghan SC, defending, that his client has no previous convictions here or in another jurisdiction.

It was further accepted that the man had only arrived in Ireland a few weeks before this incident occurred for work.

Mr Heneghan noted the CCTV is “shocking” and said his client's acceptance of the jury's verdicts is his “first sign of any remorse”. Counsel noted that a lot of alcohol was consumed, but this did not excuse his client's behaviour.

He said his client has family living abroad and intends to leave the jurisdiction once he has finished serving his sentence. Counsel noted time in custody can be more challenging for foreign nationals.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help.