Man jailed for sexually assaulting three women in Louth hospital
A 51-year-old Romanian man who sexually assaulted three women in a hospital in Co. Louth has been jailed for 3 years and 8 months.
Mihai Csiki was an in-patient in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, at the time and his victims included two other patients and a member of staff. His offending occurred over two days.
The defendant, with addresses in Germany and in Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan at the time, pleaded guilty at Drogheda Circuit Court to one count of sexual assault on a full facts basis with two other charges taken into consideration.
The incidents occurred in March 2022. The accused subsequently left the country after his arrest and charge.
He has been in custody since April 2025 when arrested in Germany before his extradition to Ireland.
He came to be in hospital after working a 12-hour shift in the chill room of a meat factory. At home he drank brandy to warm himself and got heart palpitations, counsel said.
Gda Lorin Mulholland previously testified that the defendant encountered his first victim around 8 or 9pm on March 5, 2022, as the woman, aged 61 at time, emerged from a staff changing room.
He grabbed her left hand, particularly the ring finger. She pushed him way. He then grabbed her shoulder. She pulled back, effectively pinning herself against a wall.
The defendant felt the woman’s breasts over her clothes before moving his head down to her crotch area, again over the clothing.
He said, “Me Romanian, you Irish” and made crude hand gestures.
The staff member pushed him away and continued working. She saw him again the following evening and didn’t interact with him.
Today's News in 90 Seconds - May 5th
That day, March 6, a patient, aged 69 at the time, was returning to her room having gone outside for a cigarette.
An unknown male put his hand on her shoulder. She initially thought it was a physiotherapist and showed him her neck brace.
However, he rubbed her chest before moving his hand down between her legs and rubbing there, also outside the clothing.
The woman was frightened. He stopped and she went back to her room.
This incident was captured on CCTV. Hospital staff contacted the lady and she came forward to make a complaint.
The most serious assault, and the charge the man pleaded guilty to, concerned a second patient who was aged 74.
Gda Mulholland continued that a day earlier, March 5, this lady saw a male waving at her. She didn’t know him but waved back.
At 11am the next day she was lying in bed when the same man came in and pulled the curtains around the bed.
He lifted her pyjama top and put his hand on her bare breast. She was unable to scream and tried pushing to get him away.
He then pulled down her bottoms and put his hand on her vagina underneath the clothing, touching without digital penetration.
The victim was unable to call out. The man stopped and began mumbling in a foreign language.
The woman said that her mind and body went blank. She went for a wash.
She made no report of the incident at the time. A healthcare assistant saw her emerging from the room and noticed she was stressed. This person felt something was amiss and reported it to security.
Later in the day, the defendant re-appeared at the door and blew his victim a kiss. She pressed the call button and made a report.
She gave Gardaí a description of her attacker’s clothes and tattoos.
On March 22, 2022, investigators searched his home at an address in Carrickmacross.
Mr Csiki was arrested and brought to Drogheda Garda Station where he had the assistance of a Romanian interpreter for an interview.
He acknowledged being in hospital and accepted an interaction with the second victim, who thought he was a physiotherapist, which was on CCTV, remarking that his wife had the same problem. He said what occurred was consensual.
He denied that the other two sexual assaults happened.
None of the victims were present in court, and only the second injured party made a Victim Impact Statement.
She described being shocked and sad “in a place I should have been safe”.
The court heard of a previous conviction for rape and others for aggravated thefts, according to Interpol. He has no convictions in this country.
Counsel said that his client’s wife died in 2007. He remarried and had another daughter who had a congenital heart condition.
He came from an impoverished background. His mother left the family when he was 14 and his father died when he was 17. As the eldest boy he took on a parental role for his six siblings.
Passing sentence on Friday, Judge Sinéad McMullan said that while it came late enough, the plea of guilty was of high value, "given the nature of the vulnerable victims in the case".
Mr Csiki was a father of five children. He had a number of medical issues.
He had come here to work and send money back to his family.
The judge said that she heard his apology and previously received a letter of apology, but he displayed limited insight and remorse.
The sentence of 3 years and 8 months was backdated to April 30, 2025.