Former Russian Special Forces soldier avoids jail following sexual assault at Dublin airport

A 51-year-old man with an address in Letterkenny, County Donegal, has received a suspended sentence following his guilty plea to sexual assault at Dublin Airport. At Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, the man pleaded guilty to the offence at Terminal 2 on April 10, 2014. The court heard that he attacked a teenage girl, wrestling her to the ground and assaulting her as she waited for a flight. Judge Patrick McCartan suspended a three-year sentence on condition the man keeps the peace and cooperates with the Probation Services. The judge noted he posed low risk of reoffending and expressed remorse. A psychiatric assessment concluded the man was in a temporary state of mind caused by extreme tiredness and recent bereavements. The defendant had also received a six-month suspended sentence for a similar assault committed hours later in Dublin city centre.