Dublin restaurant worker pleads guilty to sexually harassing boss while drunk at work

A Dublin restaurant worker who sexually assaulted his female supervisor while drunk by forcibly kissing, hugging and touching her has been remanded on bail pending sentencing and a reparation report.

The man in his 60s, whose name is not being used to protect the victim’s legal right to anonymity, pleaded guilty today in Dublin District Court to sexually abusing the young woman at a property in the north of the city in June 2023.

Detective Garda Jason Flynn told Judge Shalom Binchy that the defendant was “drunk, staggering and fell asleep”.

READ MORE – Homeless woman who denied murdering her ex-lover in Wicklow pleads guilty to manslaughter

READ MORE – “I hope you feel shame and guilt” – 74-year-old army sergeant who abused his wife’s young niece sentenced to seven years in prison

The supervisor ordered him to bring her a box of food and “he violently grabbed her by the head, hugged her and kissed her on the neck.”

Ten minutes later, he “placed his hand on her breast” as the young woman passed by him, and later that same day, he kissed her on the lips after making further unwanted advances toward her.

All three incidents were recorded on video surveillance systems.

Judge Binchy noted that the man was the father of adult children and had no previous convictions.

She also received a statement from the woman who had appeared at the hearing but was not required to give evidence.

The man did not speak in court, but his defence lawyer Kelly Breen said she had been instructed to apologise and tell the court that her client was ashamed and took the case extremely seriously.

Alcohol played a big part, but he had stopped drinking since the attack. The lawyer said he suffered a mild concussion at the time, but that injury was not the result of his behavior.

The defense admitted that it was a shocking incident for the supervisor.

The court heard the illness has had a significant impact on her wellbeing, including leading to depression, for which she is receiving help.

The defense argued that probation service intervention might help their now unemployed client understand the implications.

Judge Binchy noted that the man had made a statement and confession to police and pleaded guilty at an early stage, but said the attack had had a serious and lasting impact on the woman.

She adjourned sentencing pending a probation report to consider the reparation issue in the case; the hearing will resume in September.

Subscribe to the Irish Mirror breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to get breaking news and headlines delivered straight to your phone. We also treat our community members with special offers, promotions and advertising from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can always check out. If you’re curious, you can check out our Data protection.