The Court of Criminal Appeal has reserved its judgment on the sentence that should be imposed on businessman Anthony Lyons for the sexual assault of a young woman in Dublin three years ago.

Last week, the court ruled the sentence imposed on him last year was too lenient.

Lyons was found guilty of the sexual assault of a young woman walking on Griffith Avenue in the early hours of 3 October 2010.

He was sentenced to six years in prison, but Circuit Court Judge Desmond Hogan suspended five-and-a-half years and ordered Lyons to pay €75,000.

The court this morning heard submissions from defence and prosecution on the sentence that should now be imposed.

Senior Counsel Patrick Gageby said what had happened to Lyons had been a very spectacular and public fall from grace.

He said the level of publicity surrounding his case had marked him out as an outlaw in an age where such a concept was almost medieval.

Mr Gageby said Lyons and his family had been subjected to unwarranted publicity.

He said Lyons' family, including his young son, aged ten, had been subjected to a campaign of harassment by a local man and a "supportive network" of taxi drivers.

He said Lyons was full of remorse and sorrow and was at a low risk of re-offending according to reports from the probation service and the Metropolitan Police in London, where he is now living.

Mr Gageby said Lyons had had to leave Ireland after his release from prison because of the publicity that had surrounded him.

He said the family had been subjected to a campaign of "watching and besetting", which had caused distress to the children.

Lyons's wife had been followed when bringing their son to school and had to stop bringing him to school.

Mr Gageby submitted a folder of material from newspapers to the Appeal Court.

Many of the articles described Mr Lyons as a "beast".

He said this publicity had had a punitive effect on Lyons and on the family.

Mr Gageby said Lyons was subject to the sex offenders register in the UK and had to withdraw from his aviation business, and his conviction had had a severe effect on the business, which had suffered a significant reputational loss.

Lyons had also been excluded from his golf club, the court was told.

Mr Gageby said a report on the newspaper coverage showed that it had continued for a much more sustained period than usual in such a case.

He said a picture of Lyons and his teenage daughter on a holiday in Dubai in February this year had been published on the front page of a newspaper.

In statements submitted to the court, Lyons's children outlined the effect that the conviction had had on them.

His oldest daughter said a local man appeared at the garden gate on the day her father was sent to jail, blaring his horn and shouting vulgar abuse.

Her mother and sisters were hysterical, she said.

She said journalists harassed the family, phoning and knocking at neighbours' doors at all hours and some journalists had mailed her on Facebook.

The court was told taxis would park outside the house for no reason.

Lyons's son said words could not express the hurt and humiliation the relentless coverage had caused them.

He said in a statement that the nature of the offence brought them hurt and humiliation, but that had been amplified by the manufactured profile of his father created by the tabloid media.

Lyons's 16-year-old daughter said she had been followed and on one occasion had to get off a bus crying and weeping.

Mr Gageby said the publicity and the harassment were part of the totality of the hardship suffered by Lyons and his family.

Presiding judge Mr Justice John Murray said the court would also be taking into account the victim impact statement of the young woman who was assaulted.

The court was told she had not accessed any of the €75,000 paid to her solicitor in compensation and had decided not to receive it at the moment.

Senior Counsel Caroline Biggs, for the DPP, said adverse media attention could be a mitigating factor.

She said an offender had to be held up for public criticism in the press, but if it goes past that it would have a punitive effect.

Ms Biggs pointed out that the media coverage complained of happened after Lyons was convicted and sentenced.

She said the DPP's view was that this offence was at the higher end of the scale, because of the invasive nature of the offence, the level of violence, the attempt to take the victim's phone and the fact that Lyons put his hand over her mouth and around her throat to prevent her calling out.