Judge directs that man must leave Ireland after serving sentence for attacks on women in Louth
The Drogheda IndependentA 23-year-old man who sexually assaulted a woman after he stalked a teenage girl and her younger sister the same day in a different part of Dundalk has been jailed for three-and-a-half years.
Oladipupo Awolaja must leave Ireland upon his release from custody and not return for 10 years as part of a suspended portion of the sentence.
The defendant, who had an address at the time, at Beacon Court, Coe’s Road, Dundalk, pleaded guilty to one charge of sexual assault and one of stalking on July 13, 2024.
Judge Dara Hayes imposed consecutive sentences of two-and-a-half years and two years, respectively, the final 12 months suspended on conditions, including that within 48 hours of his release from prison that he leaves Ireland and does not return for 10 years.
The judge said that all three injured parties had been targeted in broad daylight.
Awolaja’s first victims were children and a man who had noticed him following them had helped “to prevent a more serious form of offending”.
The judge said that the Probation Service has significant concerns that the defendant has difficulty controlling his sexual impulses and could not identify a realistic plan for supervision.
He had arrived in Ireland just two months before the incidents occurred and had previous convictions in his native Netherlands, including two for sexual assault.
The court heard that he came to Ireland with a “vague plan” to find work.
He has been in custody since he was arrested by Gardaí on July 16, 2024.
Gda Nicole McGovern previously gave evidence that as the 15-year-old and her younger sister walked home she noticed a man following.
Such was her concern she twice crossed the road. When she sped up, he matched her pace. She was nervous and worried.
Another man noticed what was going on. He initially thought the three people were together before he decided to follow. The two girls eventually went into the garden of a house.
The man followed Awolaja who ran away.
Later that day at 7pm a 27-year-old woman was followed from Crowe Street into Jocelyn Street and onto Jocelyn Drive as she walked home from work.
In Jocelyn Drive the victim felt someone grab her bottom with both hands.
When she turned around a man grabbed her upper arm to stop her moving before grabbing her crotch over the clothing. She tried to break free.
A male cyclist caused the attacker to run away. He was chased by two other passers-by but managed to escape.
Two days later, on July 15, Gda McGovern said that while on patrol with a colleague she saw a man matching a description given acting suspiciously.
They spoke to him. He appeared “extremely nervous”. He provided his details.
Oladipupo Awolaja was arrested the next day when Gardaí got a search warrant for a residence in Beacon Court where he was staying with family friends.
Victim Impact Statements by the woman and 15-year-old girl were read into the record.
Referring to the woman’s account where she said being a woman in this world can be scary, Judge Hayes said this was "because of men like the defendant".