Intellectually disabled man avoids jail over 'horrific' sex attack on sleeping woman
'I don't sleep in the dark now, I always have the light on,' were the words of the young woman as she recalled the night she was the victim of a sexual assault after she fell asleep.
A binge-drinking man with a significant intellectual disability, who carried out a "horrific" sexual assault on a sleeping woman, has been handed a five-year suspended sentence.
The accused, in his 20s, who cannot be identified, was warned he was obliged to remain under psychological supervision and sober for eight years.
"I don't sleep in the dark now; I always have the light on," were the words of the young woman as she recalled the night she was the victim of a sexual assault after she fell asleep.
Her attacker entered a guilty plea earlier and appeared before Judge Keenan Johnson on Wednesday at Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court.
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The offence happened in the midlands in the early hours of December 27, 2019, after the man, whose cognitive level is among the lowest one per cent of the general population, had been binge drinking.
Finalisation of the case had been adjourned for updated probation and forensic psychological reports, and the accused to bring €10,000 to court for the victim.
Judge Johnson heard the accused stopped abusing alcohol and the reports were positive. The accused engaged with his probation officer and a forensic psychologist to address his understanding of sexual behaviour, consent and relationships, and he paid the compensation.
The judge ordered him to continue under probation supervision, not to consume alcohol, to remain employed or in an educational course and to have no contact with the victim or her family.
The man will go onto the sex offenders registrar and the judge told him that he must continue taking part in offence-focused counselling and attend disability and psychological services to reduce the risk of re-offending significantly.
The judge warned him that his sentence remains suspended for eight years, and failing to obey the terms will result in the court activating the prison term.
He also stressed that this sentence was not a precedent that would be applied to similar crimes, but it was due to the exceptional and extraordinary circumstances related to the man's cognitive ability.
A local garda gave evidence that the woman had been visiting family for Christmas and socialised on the night of Stephen's Day. Afterwards, she went to her brother's home and fell asleep on a couch.
The room was dark, and she woke up to find "someone was on her".
"She said she felt breathing and someone talking in a very low tone, saying her name, making grunting noises," the witness told the court. He had one hand on her top, and she could feel his fingers on her chest area, and her pants were pulled down. One of her legs was held up, and she felt something hard against her leg and activity in the area of her vagina, and she pushed him away.
She was unaware her brother had allowed the accused into his home after she had arrived and fallen asleep. At first, she had thought it was her brother, but the following morning, he explained that he had let the accused stay there. She then confronted and slapped her attacker in the face, saying, "You know what you did," to which he replied, "I'm leaving". She had bruising and was bleeding.
The attacker's DNA from his saliva was detected on her pants and vagina, the court heard.
When interviewed by gardai, the accused admitted the allegations and told them he touched her inappropriately.
The woman did not have to testify or face cross-examination due to her abuser's guilty plea but had provided a moving victim impact statement, read out in court three months ago.
The judge heard that when she woke up, she froze in fear and did not know how long the man had been violating her. She opened up in the statement about how it made her struggle with guilt and self-blame: she no longer sleeps in the dark and is now a light sleeper. She also suffered from flashbacks relating to past traumatic events, childhood sexual abuse, which resulted in a relative being jailed.
In her statement, she said she hoped the accused learned about consent when he is around women.
The man who was employed had prior convictions for motoring offences, and the court heard he had life-long deficits in cognitive and adaptive functioning and was looked after by his family.
A probation report recommended he engage with a sexual education programme and categorised him as a "moderate risk".
The judge had said it was abundantly clear that the accused loses control due to his bad binge drinking, which has to stop. He is not being named to protect the identity of the complainant.
The defence told the court that the man was remorseful, and the attack seemed opportunistic. Judge Keenan described it as a horrific assault and praised the victim.
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