Man jailed for early morning sex assault on woman walking to work
Fiona Ferguson
A man who followed and sexually assaulted a woman on her way to work in the early hours of the morning has been given a five and a half year sentence.
Marius Lacatus (32) attacked the woman from behind, dragging her to a park where he sexually assaulted her and told her he would kill her before passers-by raised the alarm and he fled.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that gardaí found him nearby, hiding under a bridge, but he was too intoxicated to be interviewed for some time. He said he had no memory of the incident.
Lacatus, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to sexual assault and making threats to kill or cause serious harm to the woman, who was also a foreign national, in Dublin on August 19th, 2024. He has been in custody since his arrest after this offence.
He has previous convictions for robbery and domestic violence from his native Romania.
Passing sentence on Friday, Judge Martin Nolan said Lacatus had grabbed the woman and physically assaulted her to some extent before sexually assaulting her.
Judge Nolan said the attack was sudden and unexpected, and the woman had every right to be terrified.
The judge said he had read the victim impact statement, which he found to be understated and reasonable.
Judge Nolan said intoxication is no excuse.
He noted that the maximum sentence for sexual assault is 10 years and set a headline sentence of eight years, saying the violence and suddenness of the attack made it a serious offence.
Taking into account Lacatus's guilty plea, impoverished background, expression of remorse and good work history, the judge imposed a five and a half year sentence.
An investigating garda told the court the young woman was walking to work in the early hours of the morning when she was attacked from behind by Lacatus, who put his arm around her neck and dragged her to a quiet location in a park.
Lacatus told the woman “I am going to kill you” before holding her down on the ground and putting his hand down inside her underwear. She managed to scream and another young woman alerted gardaí before going to her aid. Lacatus ran from the scene.
The court heard the incident lasted about two minutes in total.
The young woman prepared a victim impact statement but did not wish for it to be read aloud in court.
Philipp Rahn SC, defending, said his client had been in Ireland since 2021, working in cleaning jobs and construction. He is the father of two children who do not live with him.
He said Lacatus had come from Romania after a difficult and impoverished childhood. He suffers from epilepsy and receives his medication in prison.
He asked the court to take into account the remorse and shame Lacatus had expressed, as well as the fact that he was a foreign national who would be serving his sentence in an Irish jail.
