English student who sexually harassed landlord receives suspended sentence

An English student has been given a suspended sentence after breaking into the bedroom of his 79-year-old landlady and sexually assaulting her.

The 24-year-old man, whose name cannot be disclosed to protect the victim’s identity, comes from an Asian country.

The court heard that the man had rented a room in the woman’s house, where she lived with two other female lodgers.

This was reported by the Irish Times that the man had been in a social setting before the attack and had drunk alcohol for the first time.

The elderly victim woke up in the middle of the night and discovered the man in bed, pressed against her and rubbing her thighs.

She shouted at him to get out before informing the other lodgers about the incident and calling the Gardaí.

The man was arrested and spent six weeks in custody before the Supreme Court granted him bail.

He has no previous convictions.

At the time of the attack, he had only been in Ireland for about three weeks and his English skills were very poor or non-existent.

The court heard that before attacking the landlady, he went into the room of one of the lodgers and tried to talk to her about sex using Google Translate.

The woman had told him to leave her room.

His lawyer Nocola Cox said the man had few resources and was supported by members of his community in Ireland.

As a sign of his remorse, the man offered the victim 1,000 euros.

Judge Jonathan Dunphy sentenced the man to 18 months in prison, suspended for mitigating circumstances, including the man’s admission of guilt, his co-operation with the Gardaí and the judge’s assessment that he was unlikely to re-offend.