27-year-old man jailed for sexual assault in Donegal

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

The unnamed 27-year-old man was sentenced at the Central Criminal Court to three years for sexual assault, with the final 18 months suspended. The proceedings were reported on 11 January 2024.

He had pleaded guilty to one count of sexually assaulting an 18-year-old woman at his apartment in Donegal on 30 June 2019. The report said the woman had been asleep when the assault occurred.

Mr Justice Paul McDermott imposed the sentence, taking account of remorse, adversity, lack of previous convictions and engagement with services. The sentence was suspended on strict conditions, including no contact with the victim. The defence said there had been consensual sexual contact before the accused maintained the assault was consensual, and referred to his particular vulnerabilities.