Alleged victim of assault in west Dublin not yet interviewed on medical advice

Gardai have not yet spoken to the alleged victim of a sexual assault in west Dublin on medical advice, a court has heard.

The alleged assault of the girl took place on Garter Lane, Saggart, on Monday October 20.

She had been in State care earlier that day.

The man charged with the sexual assault, aged 26, cannot be named because of legal restrictions on all sexual assault cases in Ireland.

He appeared before Judge Alan Mitchell at Cloverhill courthouse via video link.

The court heard that the investigation file from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) was not yet ready but was at an advanced stage.

It also heard that gardai had not yet spoken to the complainant on medical advice but that she was settling in well in her new accommodation.

A solicitor for the defendant said they would not be making a bail application “at this stage”.

He said the defendant is on a waiting list for the Central Mental Hospital and the judge said that without a fitness report, things could not progress.

The defendant addressed the court at one stage and was advised by the judge to ask any questions in Arabic for the interpreter to pass on to his legal representative to decide whether it should be directed to the judge.

The interpreter and solicitor spoke to one another briefly and the interpreter replied to the man in Arabic before the hearing ended.

The case is next to appear before Cloverhill courthouse on November 19 for DPP’s directions and a report on fitness to be tried.

Violent disorder broke out in Saggart in the days after the alleged sexual assault, in which four gardai were injured, a Garda van was burnt out and over 30 arrests were made.