This article is from page 17 of the 2014-11-11 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 17 JPG
A 25 YEAR-old Clare man who sexually assaulted a 12 year-old girl in as she slept in bed has been told he is “extremely fortunate” not to be going to prison.
The man received a two year suspended sentence at Ennis Circuit Criminal Court on Friday after previously pleading guilty to sexually assaulting the girl at the home of his former partner’s house in west Clare in February 2012.
Details of the assault were heard at Ennis Circuit Criminal Court in June. The 12-year-old victim stayed in the house on the night in question to baby-sit the woman’s young child. The man and the woman were in the house drinking.
Garda Suzanne McHale told the court the accused and the woman were staying in one bedroom and the victim and the child were asleep in another bedroom.
The court heard the accused got up that night to go the toilet. Garda McHale said that when he came back he entered the complainant’s room and got into bed beside her. Garda McHale said the victim said the man asked if he could “shift her”.
She said the girl said the man started kissing her and put his hands on her body.
Garda McHale said the man left the room after the girl persistently asked him to leave. The court heard the man had consumed a lot of alcohol on the night.
He later told gardaí that he thought he was going back to the room he had been sleeping in. He said he realised he was in the wrong bed when he started kissing the girl.
Defence Counsel Isobel Kennedy (SC) said the two adults in the house had consumed a large amount of alcohol on the night.
She said the room in which the victim had been sleeping in on the night was the one her client and his then partner ordinarily slept in.
Sentencing was adjourned to last week when a victim impact report was handed into the court.
The victim, who was not in court, stated she had “self-harmed” since the incident and attempted suicide. The court heard she felt “vulnerable” around men and was unable to attend school for a period.
Passing sentence, Judge Keys said, “Sexual assault is a very serious offence and can leave a person seriously scarred”.
Judge Keys said the mitigating factors in the case were the accused’s early plea, which was a relief to the victim, and his lack of previous convictions. He also noted there is no risk, or any evidence, to suggest the man will re-offend. Judge Keys said that had the matter gone to trial a jury could have found the man made a genuine mistake.
Imposing a two year suspended sentence, Judge Keys said the circumstances in this case were particularly “unusual”.
“I accept you are deeply ashamed of what happened”, he added. Addressing the accused, the Judge said, “You can regard yourself as an extremely fortunate person to be not going to jail”.