Man jailed for year after sexual assault in caravan

December 13, 2018

A man who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a female at a caravan at Kinnegar, Rathmullan has been jailed for one year.

The man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim, admitted the assault which happened on June 11th, 2016.

Sentencing the man, Judge John Aylmer said the man has destroyed his family relationship irreversibly and particularly with the victim.

He added that the man was considered a good family man but did have an issue with alcohol.

Retired detective Garda Bosco Gallagher told Letterkenny Circuit Court he had arrested the man after the female told another family member about the assault.

The court heard how the accused and the victim were lying on a bed in the caravan when the man touched her inappropriately.

The female said she initially pretended to be asleep but as the man continued to touch her she jumped off the bed.

He apologised but then asked her to come and lie down beside him again but she refused.

The court was told that the man had been already punished by his family who wanted nothing to do with him since the incident.

His barrister added that his client was deeply ashamed of what he had done and that he is experiencing daily punishment on a daily basis inside his own head and within his family dynamic.

The man acknowledged that the sexual assault had happened and that he is sorry about it, added his barrister.

Judge Aylmer said he put the offence in the mid-range of such offences and that it merited a sentence of three years in jail.

However, he said the man had pleaded guilty at an early stage and is ashamed of his actions and will now appear on the sex offenders register.

He sentenced the man to two years in prison but suspended the final 12 months of the sentence and ordered him to abstain from alcohol and drugs and to keep appointments with the probation services.

LEAVE A COMMENT