Kildare judge takes aim at defendant in contested sexual assault case
CRITICISM
A Naas District Court judge was not impressed by the defence put forward by a man and his barrister during a sexual assault case.
Judge Desmond Zaidan took issue with the defence in the case, which took place in the courthouse on Thursday, October 19 last.
Reporting restrictions were previously imposed by the judge in the case, in order to protect the injured party.
The court was told that on a date last year, a woman went up to order drinks at the counter of a nightclub based in County Kildare.
As she stood at the counter, a man suddenly came up behind her, grabbed her by the hips, and started 'humping' against her for a number of seconds.
She said that when she saw he was a stranger, and not a friend of hers, she froze.
The injured party said that she did not consent to this, and when her friend spotted what was going on, she stepped in and confronted the man.
It was also heard that the friend was acquainted with the man’s brother.
Although the man did not deny touching the woman, he claimed that he was pulling a playful 'horseplay' prank on who he assumed to be a female friend, but afterwards realised it was a complete stranger.
He maintained that as soon as he realised this, he apologised to the woman.
The man’s barrister maintained that when his client held the woman, he moved from side to side, and not in a 'back and forth humping' movement.
He also brought up that both parties 'had drink on them' during the incident.
After listening to the testimony of the woman and her friend, the judge asked gardaí to play CCTV showing the incident.
In the footage, the woman could be seen going up to the counter and ordering drinks, when the man came up to her and held her from behind.
Although the man can be seen swaying from side to side for about two or three seconds, he soon begins to 'hump' against the woman in a sexual manner for about 10 to 15 seconds, until the woman’s friend interjects.
The woman also claimed that the man never apologised to her and that when she went off elsewhere after giving out to him about his behaviour, the man turned to his friend and laughed at her.
She said his lack of remorse was a deciding factor in reporting him to gardaí.
The footage corroborated the woman’s claim about the man’s reaction following her departure.
A copy of an interview transcript between the man and the arresting gardaí was also read out to the court, in which he said to the gardaí that he 'didn’t think anything about it' and maintained that he apologised to the woman.
Although the man stuck to his defence while being cross-examined by gardaí, Judge Zaidan ultimately sided with the injured party,
He told the man: "It is clear (from the footage) that there was no consent, and there is no doubt in my mind that there was a sexual element here; he tried to take a chance."
The judge also praised the courage of the injured party and her friend.
He added: "I was getting embarrassed for him, when he kept on speaking (in the stand), I had my head in my hands. He should have just admitted to his mistake."
The judge also said that if it was a case of mistaken identity, 'any decent person’s first reaction would be to say, 'Oh, I’m sorry.'
Judge Zaidan concluded that he was satisfied that the State had proved its case beyond all reasonable doubt.
When the man put forward a charitable donation as a gesture of remorse, the judge directed that the money go towards the injured party.
However, she instead suggested to the judge that it should be directed to a charity, and it was agreed upon that the money would go to Women’s Aid.
She also suggested that the man undertake a consent education course.
The judge ordered the man to pay €2,000 to the group within a week, and also directed him to engage with probation services and a consent course.
The woman remarked that she felt that 'justice has been served' in her case.