Man jailed for five years over sexual assault on Tinder date

A MAN has been jailed for five years for a sexual assault on a woman he met on the popular internet dating site Tinder.

Paul Flaherty, 30, was found guilty by a jury at the Central Criminal Court last December of sexual assaulting a woman at his home on Kiltipper Avenue, Tallaght, Dublin, on August 31, 2015.

The incident took place while Flaherty’s parents were in the nextdoor bedroom.

Garda Aisling O’Connor said that Flaherty and the woman initially made contact through Tinder before exchanging telephone numbers.

The court heard that after meeting online, the pair arranged to meet on August 31 and they spent the day drinking together.

Later that evening, the woman got a taxi with Flaherty to his parents’ house. They went to the man’s bedroom, got into bed and there was some ‘frantic’ consensual kissing before he sexually assaulted her.

The court heard the woman did not consent to Flaherty taking off her clothing nor putting his hands around her neck for a period of time. Garda O’Connor also agreed Flaherty’s penis came into contact with her genital area and the woman had bruising on her neck for days afterwards.

When Flaherty left the bedroom to go to the toilet, the ‘distressed’ woman ran from his house and got help from a stranger who took her to Tallaght Garda Station.

Garda O’Connor confirmed that Flaherty maintained in his Garda interviews that what had happened on the night was consensual.

Mr Justice Michael White said that Flaherty’s behaviour on the night was ‘disgusting’ and he was satisfied this event had a ‘very serious impact’ on the victim.

In her victim impact statement, the former civil servant said her life would never be the same again.

‘He left bruises on my body, which have long since faded, and he inflicted scars upon my mind that will never heal,’ she said.

Michael O’Higgins SC, defending, put forward a number of factors in mitigation, including Flaherty’s alcohol dependency, his gambling addiction and his mental health issues.

Mr Justice White backdated the sentence to March 7 of this year when Flaherty went into custody.

‘Left scars on my mind that will never heal’