Man who sexually assaulted woman on streets of Cork city jailed for two years 

A sentence of two years and three months was imposed on a man who sexually attacked a woman in Cork city - the victim having spent much of her life trying to come to terms with being sexually abused as a child.

Judge Dara Hayes said: “Women are entitled to go out socialising, they are entitled to drink, they are entitled to not be hassled by men and they are most certainly entitled not to be sexually assaulted.

“You saw a woman in a position of vulnerability and took advantage of her.” 

The accused man, 43-year-old Saadallah Ghoumrassi, who is from Algeria and living at temporary accommodation in Cork city, said in a letter for the victim, read out by a translator at Cork Circuit Criminal Court: “For what I have done I ask forgiveness. It was a mistake. What I have done was wrong. I wish you a healthy and bright future. Thank you very much if you accept my apology.” 

The young woman, who is 21, said in a victim impact statement read on her behalf by Detective Garda Kevin Hastings that, within a week of the sexual attack on her on December 3, 2021, she attempted to take her own life.

She said the crime affected her mental health, adding: “No matter if you say no, what you wear or where you go, people take advantage.” 

The young woman hoped that by making a complaint in this case it might help to prevent “another girl being sexually assaulted.” 

The judge was previously told that the accused was horrified at what he saw of the crime on CCTV and at how he behaved. It was stated the accused quite shocked and that he did apologise to the injured party and gardaí. He said: ‘I am not a bad person. It is the first time in my life I did anything like this’.

Judge Dara Hayes said: “This is an appalling offence – to take advantage of a young woman as she walked the streets of her own city. 

"She should be able to walk home (without anything like this).” 

Det. Garda Hastings said that the 21-year-old woman was in a vulnerable condition as she walked home from the city centre after midnight on December 3, 2021 when the sexual assault occurred.

She had drink taken and stumbled, and the defendant approached and offered to help her but she declined his help.

The detective said that following this initial encounter he sexually assaulted her twice as she made her way home.

The accused was assessed as being at low risk of sexual reoffending.