Man accused of sexually assaulting Dublin girl after approaching her on street and putting her in ‘headlock’

A man accused of sexually assaulting a Dublin girl after approaching her on a street and putting her in a “headlock” has been granted bail.

The accused, in his 20s, who cannot be identified due to a court order, was charged over the incident in a residential area in Dublin on a date earlier this month.

The man, a non-national living in asylum accommodation, appeared at Dublin District Court, which heard his reply to the charge was “I didn’t have any sexual intention”.

The investigating garda asked for the usual reporting restrictions, which automatically protect the complainant’s right to anonymity, to be extended to not naming the accused “due to the sensitive nature of the charge”.

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The man and the girl, whose age was not stated during the hearing, were not known to each other, the court heard.

The girl had been walking home when a male crossed the road to approach and began speaking to her. The court heard she felt uncomfortable and went across the road, but the male joined her.

The girl told gardaí the man claimed to be a hotel worker “and they should get a room at which she told him she had a boyfriend and he said, ‘That’s fine, we can still get a room’.”

It was alleged, “The male put his hand over her left shoulder, putting her in a sort of headlock and groped her left breast.”

The girl took out her phone and attempted to take a photo of the male, who allegedly said, “No photo, no photo and removed his hands”.

The court heard the girl jogged to her home, followed by the accused.

The garda said when she arrived, her father was waiting at the front door, and the “male walked past her house staring at her while she hid behind her father, crying”.

The officer said the accused, who listened to the hearing with the aid of an interpreter, was a flight risk. The court heard he left his passport in the UK, where he had lived previously.

The garda also had witness interference concerns.

Defence barrister Ciara Murray told the court that her client identified himself on CCTV footage during his Garda interview. He told gardaí that he spoke to the girl, hugged her, and “believed that she was warm to his approach”.

Counsel said her client had no prior convictions and still enjoyed the presumption of innocence.

Gardaí are seeking further directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions on whether the case would be heard at the District Court level or in the Circuit Court, which has greater sentencing powers.

The defence submitted that the court had yet to hear direct evidence from the complainant or witnesses.

The accused, who gets a €38-a-week welfare payment but also does casual work, had been provided accommodation away from Dublin.

The court granted bail and ordered him to stay out of Dublin except for court appearances, provide gardaí with his phone number, have no contact with the complainant and sign on regularly at a Garda station.

He will appear again in December.