Courts / Dublin / Report

No jail for passenger who sexually assaulted Ryanair cabin crew member

Date
2026-05-15

Stage
Sentence

Primary locality
Dublin

County
Dublin

Summary

A 31-year-old man from Killeshandra, County Cavan, has received a fully suspended two-year sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for sexually assaulting a Ryanair cabin crew member during a flight to Dublin Airport. Aaron Brady pleaded guilty to the assault, which occurred approximately 40 minutes before landing. The court heard Brady had consumed approximately five bottles of wine before boarding and between 12 and 15 mini bottles during the flight. Judge Jonathan Dunphy imposed the suspended sentence on strict conditions, including probation service supervision, offence-focused work, addiction support engagement, and attendance at a residential alcohol treatment programme. Brady has paid €3,130 to cover the woman's out-of-pocket expenses and received a five-year ban from Ryanair, which Judge Dunphy noted should be for life. The woman resigned from her position following the incident and described experiencing severe emotional and psychological consequences in her victim impact statement.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: No jail for passenger who sexually assaulted Ryanair cabin crew member. Charges or matters: sexually assaulting the woman on an inbound flight to Dublin Airport. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

2026-05-15 Publication

Why: He said in order to incentivise further rehabilitation, a custodial sentence was not warranted at this point. CNI source report

Case subjects

Aaron Brady

Defendant

Charges: sexually assaulting the woman on an inbound flight to Dublin Airport (Admitted)

Plea: Guilty

Outcome: Taking into account the mitigating and personal circumstances, Judge Dunphy imposed a two-year sentence. Judge Dunphy suspended the sentence in full for three years on strict conditions.; Judge Dunphy said he would adjourn the case to June for finalisation to allow Brady to address the woman's expenses outlined in the victim impact statement.