Man gets suspended sentence for sexually assaulting Ryanair cabin crew member

By Eimear Dodd and Fiona Ferguson

A passenger who sexually assaulted a Ryanair cabin crew member during a flight has been given a suspended sentence.

The woman told the court in her victim impact statement that she was “sexually assaulted in a tight and confined space” where colleagues were also present.

She said her sense of safety and peace has been “completely shattered”.

“I was only doing my job when this happened”, she said.

She said she fell in love with flying when she joined Ryanair, but has since resigned.

She said she feels there is a “layer of shame over me” and “still feels disgusting”.

“The road to recovery feels long and unreachable,” the woman said, adding that she is taking it one day at a time.

“Life hasn’t been the kindest to me, and what happened is an extra heavy load,” she said.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard at a previous sentence hearing that the incident occurred while the flight was in the air, approximately 40 minutes before it was due to land in Dublin.

Aaron Brady (31) of Main Street, Killeshandra, Co Cavan, pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting the woman on an inbound flight to Dublin Airport.

The court was told Brady has no memory of the incident and has a problem with drink, which he is addressing.

He brought €5,000 to court as a token of remorse on a previous occasion and on Friday handed over €3,130 to cover the woman’s out-of-pocket expenses.

Judge Jonathan Dunphy commended the woman for the manner in which she had dealt with this “terrible ordeal” and noted her victim impact statement spoke to the significant emotional, psychological and economic consequences for her.

He said this was a sexual assault of the woman in her workplace which had violated her personal space. He noted the incident had required the involvement of the captain mid-flight and the gardaí on landing.

He said the accused had shown no regard for the woman, her colleagues or other passengers.

Judge Dunphy noted Brady had apologised at the previous hearing and acknowledged his significant drinking problem, which he said had reached rock bottom at the time of the offending. He noted Brady also struggled with depression.

He said Brady accepts full responsibility, displayed deep shame and insight into his offending. He is working consistently and has removed alcohol from his life.

Taking into account the mitigating and personal circumstances, Judge Dunphy imposed a two-year sentence. He said Brady’s decision-making was clearly impaired by the extreme amount of alcohol he had consumed, but this does not lessen the severity of what took place.

He said in order to incentivise further rehabilitation, a custodial sentence was not warranted at this point. He suspended the sentence in full for three years on strict conditions.

These include that Brady be under the supervision of the probation service, undertake offence-focused work, engage with addiction supports and attend a residential alcohol treatment programme. He also ordered the money brought to court be paid over to the woman.

Brady took the stand at an earlier hearing and told the court he drank around five bottles of wine with his partner at the airport before boarding the flight, and potentially between 12 and 15 mini bottles of alcohol during the flight. He said he has not had a drink in a year.

Brady said he was “really, really sorry, sincerely” and said his offending was “out of character”.

“I can’t believe it, I’m so sorry for the trauma it has caused you. It’s not me at all...I’m really, really sorry”.

The court heard the woman also faced financial losses of over €3,000 due to the incident, including sick leave, voluntary absences and her resignation.

Keith Spencer, defending, said the amount of drink taken by Brady before boarding and on the flight “is almost mind-boggling” He said his client deeply regrets what happened, did not intend it to occur, is ashamed and apologetic.

Counsel asked the court to consider his client’s early guilty plea, good work record in an ice cream factory and the contents of a probation report.

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. In the case of an emergency, always dial 999/112.