Man barged into woman’s house and sexually assaulted her

A FATHER-OF-ONE who pushed his way into the home of a 20-year-old woman late at night and sexually assaulted her has received a two-year suspended prison sentence.

Donal Quirke (44), of Beech Walk, Crann Ard, Fermoy, Co Cork, appeared at Cork Circuit Criminal Court for sentencing yesterday.

He had previously pleaded guilty to a charge of sexually assaulting the woman at her home, physically assaulting her boyfriend and trespassing.

Garda Sergeant Chris Murphy told the court the woman was at home on August 10, 2019, when she heard a loud bang at the door about 10.30pm.

She presumed it was a member of her family so she opened the door where she was met by the highly intoxicated Quirke.

Sgt Murphy said Quirke barged into the house without the consent of the woman. He then urinated on the floor of the downstairs bathroom.

Sgt Murphy said Quirke was “highly intoxicated” and aggressive. The young woman asked him to leave but he refused.

“He was asking why was she with her boyfriend and said she could do an awful lot better than him. He became quite aggressive. He pinned her against the wall and said: ‘You are going to wake up beside me in the morning’.

“He put his hand down the waistband of her pants on to her buttocks and tried to pull down her shorts. She was in fear she was going to be raped.”

The woman ran upstairs and woke her boyfriend. Quirke threatened to throw the boyfriend down the stairs. The boyfriend and another relative who arrived at the scene managed to get Quirke out of the house.

In her victim-impact statement the woman said she felt unsafe being alone anywhere after the incident. “I am too scared to be by myself,” she said. “The one question I keep asking is why he picked me, why it happened to me?”

Defence counsel Paula McCarthy told Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin that Quirke brought €3,000 to court for the victim at a previous hearing. At that time, the woman indicated that it could be sent to Marymount Hospice because she was not comfortable accepting the money.

Judge Brian O’Callaghan had urged her to consider her position. He suggested she consider using some of the money for a holiday.

At yesterday’s hearing, prosecution barrister Imelda Kelly said the woman now planned to divide the money among charities.

Judge Ó Donnabháin said it seemed alcohol was a “significant problem” for Quirke. He described his entry into the house without consent and his refusal to leave as “aggravating factors”.

Taking the guilty plea and a positive probation report into account, he sentenced him to two years in prison.

He suspended the sentence with certain conditions.