Portlaoise Court: Man sexually assaulted woman on day of release from prison on child porn charges
Portlaoise Courthouse
A MAN, who on the same day that he had been released from jail after serving a prison sentence for 38 counts of distributing and possessing child abuse material, sexually assaulted a woman in Portlaoise.
The incident was recounted at an in camera hearing of the case at Portlaoise District Court.
The man pleaded guilty to the sexual assault offence and also to being intoxicated in public.
Garda Dave McNamara told the court that on 22 June 2023 while on duty he received a report of a man causing a disturbance in Laois Shopping Centre.
When he arrived at the scene he came across a 54-year old man who was in a highly intoxicated state.
While dealing with him a woman approached and informed Gda McNamara that the man had taken her hand and kissed it without her permission.
She told Gda McNamara that the man had been sitting on the surround of the fountain and she had first spoken with him and asked him to put out a cigarette that he was smoking. The second time she approached him and asked him to take his hand out of the water, and it was at that stage that he reached up, took her hand and kissed it.
Gda McNamara said the defendant had 38 previous convictions for the possession and distribution of child pornography images, all imposed on the one day in May 2022.
Defending solicitor Philip Meagher said that the incident happened on the day his client had been released from prison and had been sitting around the fountain waiting for his father to collect him.
Gda McNamara said that the accused had told gardaí that he had missed a bus to take him home and had rang his father to come and collect him.
Mr Meagher said: “He was waving his hand in the water and she approached him. He stopped. Pulled out his hand and she thought that he was going to shake hers. It was 3.30pm and there were a lot of people around. When he was released he rang his dad to collect him and he had been told that his mother had died three week’s previously. The family didn’t want to tell him while he was in custody. He got a few cans of beers and drank them. He hadn’t had a drink for a long time due to his confinement. In his drunken state he thought that he had familiarity. He didn’t try to follow her or try to touch any other part of her body. He appreciates it was somewhat shocking and in appropriate what he did.”
He said: “It would be at the lower end of the scale in regards to the facts you hear in such cases. He didn’t use any type of threats or violence and there were no weapons involved. It was simply a simple drunken stupid act that shouldn’t have happened.”
Judge Andrew Cody said: “He couldn’t keep out of trouble for two hours after being released.”
He went on to remand the man on continuing bail to 9 October and told him that if he contributed €500 to the Laois Domestic Abuse Service and brought a receipt to that affect back to court on that date, he would finalise the case.
