Donegal Snapchat sex predator jailed after groping victim at house party

Garda Sergeant Gerard Dalton said the woman was socialising in the Mulroy Woods Hotel in Milford, Co Donegal, on the night in question and had posted pictures on her Snapchat and Instagram accounts. A short time later she received a Snapchat message

By: irishmirror.ie

Nov 09 2024
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Donegal Snapchat sex predator

A man who sexually assaulted a woman after discovering she was out socialising when he saw pictures of her on social media has been jailed for four years. Seamus Ward from Drumkern, Milford, appeared before Letterkenny Circuit Court in connection with the incident on September 6, 2018.

Ward, aged 38, and a friend subsequently went to a house party with the victim, who was also accompanied by a friend. At one stage, the women tried to lift Ward out of an armchair. One of the women gave a phone to Ward’s friend to record “as she thought it was very funny”.

She instructed Ward to go to bed in the spare room. When the victim later woke up, she described how Ward was beside her in bed and it “took a moment to realise what was happening”. Ward was described as having his hand between her legs, groping her and placing his fingers inside her.

The woman told gardai that she screamed at Ward: “What the f*** are you doing?” before pushing him in the chest. She alleged that Ward responded: “I thought that you were someone else.” She screamed for him to get out of the house and Ward was alleged to have responded: “So what if I did.”

At this point, the woman said she “lost it completely”. Sergeant Dalton said that the accounts of two other persons who were present were consistent with what the victim outlined. One of those persons confirmed an account from the victim that Ward referred to her as “a psycho”.

The woman told gardai that she rang another friend who advised her to make contact with gardai. She told how she “hit drink and drugs hard” but lodged a complaint in January, 2019. The victim said she attended White Oaks Treatment Centre and received a text message from Ward after she left treatment there.

When the substance of the allegation was put to Ward, he denied it. He also denied calling the victim a psycho. Ward was put in the witness box by his barrister, Mr Colm Smyth BL. Ward said he wanted to tell his victim that he wished to “express shame and regret for the trauma and for the suffering I have caused you – and I am truly sorry for that”.

Ward said his life “spiralled out of control” after he was convicted for dangerous driving causing death and added: “I am just not coping with my emotions.” Mr Smyth said his client has “had a lot of issues in his life”

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