Garda Donal Daly outlined the details at Cork Circuit Criminal Court yesterday during the sentencing of Azaro Dugast, aged 25, of apartment 3, Millerd Hall, Millerd St, Cork, is charged with assault causing harm to a woman at that apartment. He was also charged with obstructing Garda Donal Daly at 2am on November 5, 2017.

Judge Gerard O’Brien said Dugast would be facing a stiff sentence and he was remanded in custody until October 31.

“This is an absolutely appalling series of events — stomping on her face in a sustained attack over three flights of stairs,” the judge said.

It is absolutely disgraceful. No amount of alcohol or drugs justifies what happened.

Gda Daly said the woman, from Waterford, was at a party in the apartment, where people were consuming drink and drugs. When one man made a proposition of a sexual nature she refused and wanted to leave the apartment.

Garda Daly said that as she tried to leave the 28-year-old woman was attacked by two men, one of whom was Dugast.

They beat her on the stairs and dragged her into the apartment. She thought she was going to be killed as she was repeatedly punched and kicked by Dugast and his accomplice.

She managed to get out on to the street and at that time there was the sound of sirens as gardaí approached. She escaped and the men returned to the apartment, where there was a standoff.

As previously reported in the case of a co-accused, there were threats shouted from inside by a man claiming to have “a Glock and six bullets” when they responded to the report of a woman assaulted at the apartment.

Armed gardaí had to assist at the increasingly volatile scene.

Garda Donal Daly testified yesterday at Cork Circuit Criminal Court that when gardaí overpowered Dugast and held him down, he was still shouting encouragement to another man, saying to “shoot the c***s”.

During a lengthy standoff with another man while Dugast was held down outside gardaí asked him if the other man was armed.

Dugast replied: “He has a Glock and a shotgun and I hope he blows your fucking heads off.”

Dugast, originally from Mahon on the southside of Cork City, had 18 previous convictions including counts for assault, said Gda Daly.

The victim of the attack told the court she had become suicidal since the incident. She said Dugast stamped on her face as her head was held on a step.

She said the assault all happened after drinking and taking cocaine with others when she said no to a man who indicated he wanted her to engage in a sexual act with him by thrusting his crotch area towards her.

The woman believed that, but for the sound of sirens in the distance causing the men to retreat to the apartment, her death would have been inevitable.

She said through a victim report read by Gda Daly that she had been a bright bubbly personality before this but that was no longer the case. She said she ended up at the party through a mutual friend but did not know her attackers before that night.