An Egyptian man who had been living in Ireland illegally has been sentenced to one year in prison for sexually assaulting a young woman in her Dublin home.

Mohamed Ahmed (31) of South Circular Road, Dublin pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to attacking the women on September 19, 2016 by pining her to the ground and sexually assaulting her.

The woman, who asked not to be identified, said in her victim impact statement that she had been receiving counselling since the incident and had not been able to walk home alone at night.

He had been invited back to the woman's house for a drink following a day out at the All-Ireland finals last year. She admitted that she did not remember much of the night because of the amount of alcohol consumed, but that there had been some consensual kissing before she asked him to leave.

Garda Lorna O'Connor took a statement from the victim the day after the attack. She said said that the woman became uncomfortable and asked Ahmed to leave before going to the toilet in her home.

Gda O'Connor told he court that when the woman returned Ahmed had removed his trousers, and tried to take off the woman's clothes. The woman said that she had only remembered this because she found pictures of Ahmed without his clothes on her phone the following day.

"He eventually put his trousers back on and she pleaded with him to leave, which he refused to do," Gda O'Connor said.

"She agreed to give him a hug if he promised to leave afterwards, and when she did he tried to kiss her again," she added.

The court heard that a struggle then ensued, which resulted in Ahmed being on top of the woman. He then sexually assaulted her.

"He tried to remove his trousers again and she said she completely lost it and managed to throw him off," Gda O'Connor said. "She ran to her housemate's room for help and remained there."

The woman said that Ahmed then fled the house.

Judge Melanie Greally said that since the incident occurred at the woman's home it must have caused her a huge amount of distress.

"The injured party is hyper conscious of other people's behaviour since the incident, and she has received counselling on a regular basis," Judge Greally noted.

She acknowledged that Ahmed, who has been in custody since his arrest, has no previous convictions and that his landlord described him in a positive way.

He came to Ireland in 2010 on a student visa that expired in 2014, and he has been living here illegally since then.

She sentenced him to 18 months with the final six suspended, and required him to register as a sex offender.

Online Editors