Man sexually assaulted Ryanair cabin crew member mid-flight, court hears

Eimear Dodd

A woman has said she was only doing her job when a man sexually assaulted her while she was working as cabin crew on a Ryanair flight.

In a victim impact statement, the woman said she was “sexually assaulted in a tight and confined space” where colleagues were also present.

She said her sense of safety and peace has been “completely shattered”.

“I was only doing my job when this happened”, she said.

She said she fell in love with flying when she joined Ryanair, but has since resigned.

She said she feels there is a “layer of shame over me” and “still feels disgusting”.

“The road to recovery feels long and unreachable,” the woman said, adding that she is taking it one day at a time.

“Life hasn’t been the kindest to me, and what happened is an extra heavy load,” she said.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard on Thursday the incident occurred while the flight was in the air, approximately 40 minutes before it was due to land in Dublin.

Aaron Brady (31) of Main Street, Killeshandra, Co Cavan pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting the woman on an inbound flight to Dublin Airport.

The court was told he has no memory of the incident and has a problem with drink, which he is addressing.

Taking the stand, Brady said he drank around five bottles of wine with his partner at the airport before boarding the flight and potentially between 12 and 15 mini bottles of alcohol during the flight.

He said he has not had a drink in a year.

Brady said he was “really, really sorry, sincerely” and said his offending was “out of character”.

“I can’t believe it, I’m so sorry for the trauma it has caused you. It’s not me at all...I’m really, really sorry”.

Judge Jonathan Dunphy asked him if he had been banned for life from Ryanair flights, with Brady telling him the ban was for five years.

“I understand it is for life”, the judge noted.

The court heard the woman also faced financial losses of over €3,000 due to the incident, including sick leave, voluntary absences and her resignation.

Judge Dunphy asked if the woman had to bear those costs instead of her employer, with the prosecution confirming she did.

Keith Spencer BL, defending, said the amount of drink taken by Brady before boarding and on the flight “is almost mind-boggling”.

He said his client deeply regrets what happened, did not intend it to occur, is ashamed and apologetic.

Counsel asked the court to consider his client’s early guilty plea, good work record in an ice cream factory and the contents of a probation report.

He noted his client had €5,000 available as a gesture of remorse, which the court heard the woman is willing to accept.

Spencer said his client is willing to repay the woman’s expenses and could save another €5,000 if given more time.

Dunphy said he would adjourn the case to June for finalisation to allow Brady to address the woman’s expenses outlined in the victim impact statement. He directed that the €5,000 should be paid over within the next 24 hours for onward transmission to the woman.

He said he would “somewhat reluctantly” remand Brady on continuing bail so he could continue to work, adding that the court’s concern was the losses experienced by the woman.

Addressing the woman, Judge Dunphy said he was grateful for her attendance, and said he wanted to finalise the case “in the right way so that everyone can move on from this”.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help. In the case of an emergency, always dial 999/112.