Courts / Cork / Report
Indian national loses appeal against sentence for sexual assault at flat-viewing
Summary
In February 2016, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal of Indian national Dileesh Soman, 33, who had been sentenced to four years' imprisonment with the final 12 months suspended for sexually assaulting a 30‑year‑old postgraduate student in Cork City on 11 November 2013. Soman, who had lived and worked in Ireland for over six years, had used the alias 'Aaron' and entered the victim's apartment after she had advertised a room on daft.ie. During the assault he forced her to expose parts of her body, touched her breasts, opened her jeans, and inserted his hand into her vagina, while making remarks such as 'nothing bad is going on' and 'it's okay, we're not going to have sex here.' The victim, who had never advertised for a flatmate before, later reported the incident to the Gardaí. Dileesh Soman pleaded guilty.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Indian national loses appeal against sentence for sexual assault at flat-viewing. Charges or matters: sexually assaulting a woman at an address in a different part of Cork City on November 11, 2013. Procedural stage: appeal
When:
- November 11, 2013 Hearing Or Sentence
- February 20, 2015 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2016-02-18 Publication
Case subjects
Appellant
Charges: sexually assaulting a woman at an address in a different part of Cork City on November 11, 2013 (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: He was sentenced to four years imprisonment with the final 12 months suspended by Judge Sean Ó Donnabháin on February 20, 2015. Soman lost an appeal against the severity of his sentence today, with the Court of Appeal holding that prison was unlikely to be more difficult for him in circumstances where he was well settled in Ireland and had some command of the English language.
Places mentioned
- Cork
- Cork Circuit Criminal Court
- Court of Appeal
Topics
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