Donegal man jailed for sexual assault at Central Criminal Court

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

A Donegal man was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment, with the final 18 months suspended, for sexual assault at the Central Criminal Court. He was jailed for the unsuspended 18 months.

The man pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting his partner’s sister at his home on 4 June 2017. The proceedings were reported on 26 June 2023.

Mr Justice Paul McDermott ordered him not to contact the injured party, directly or indirectly, and required assessment for programmes relating to his offending or alcohol abuse.

The report said he initially told gardaí the encounter was consensual, but he later accepted he had done wrong and that the injured party had done nothing to cause what happened. In mitigation, his barrister said he was intoxicated, had misunderstood the situation and wished to apologise unreservedly.