‘SEX ACCUSED WAS SEIZED BY 40 VIGILANTES’

A MAN accused of sexually assaulting a girl suffered head injuries after being confronted by up to 40 “vigilantes”, a court has heard.

Anatol Botnari, 23, was arrested on Saturday night and taken to Ballymun station.

Gardai charged the traffic maintenance worker, from Moldova, with the sexual assault of a teenage girl in Dublin’s northside on February 4.

He was held pending his appearance on Monday at Dublin District Court before Judge Ciaran Liddy, who set €750 bail with a range of conditions.

Detective Garda Conor Garland told Judge Liddy Mr Botnari made no reply to the charge.

Objecting to bail, he cited flight risk concerns and said the accused, of Sorrel Heath, Clonsilla, Dublin, has been in Ireland since September.

He told the court the man was accused of sexual assault of a juvenile. He alleged there were witnesses to the incident, and he was on CCTV close to the scene.

He said the accused provided two addresses. The court heard when the first was checked, “the person at that address confirmed that the accused does not live there”.

Cross-examined by defence solicitor Paddy Mcgarry, Detective Garland said he was unsure of the accused’s true identity and was waiting to hear back from Interpol.

He agreed with the solicitor that Mr Botnari was initially allowed to stay at his first address to get a PPS number, but no longer lived there.

He said Mr Botnari could not name the second address but was able to locate it on Google maps in Ballyfermot. The court heard he claimed he and his brother worked in road traffic maintenance, and they both lived with and paid rent to a family there.

Detective Garland said that address was checked too, but the homeowners told gardai the accused did not live there. He accepted, however, that they were not in court.

Detective Garland agreed with the defence that the accused had to be taken to hospital for head wounds “due to people at the scene”.

The solicitor described them as a “vigilante group”, but the officer said he did not know they were. He could not say if members of the group of up to 40 were among the witnesses who made statements.

Mr Botnari’s solicitor argued a lack of an address was not enough reason to deny bail. He asked the judge to note his client had given two addresses and details about jobs he held.

He said the accused could find hostel accommodation and provide a new contact number because his phone was lost during the alleged incident.

Judge Liddy set cash bail in Mr Botnari’s bond of €750 and ordered him to surrender his passport and stay away from parts of north Dublin and witnesses.

He warned him he must sign on daily at a Garda station and provide an address to the gardai within 48 hours.

He was remanded in custody to appear at Cloverhill District Court on Friday.