Waterford court orders man ordered to pay €3,000 in lieu of sexual assault conviction
The man slapped his colleague on the backside, Waterford District Court was told. Stock Image.
Waterford District Court has ordered a man to pay €3,000 in compensation to a colleague for slapping her on the backside.
The man who cannot be named for legal reasons was before Judge John Cheatle, charged with sexual assault, but was not convicted.
The injured party had agreed to the compensation in lieu of a conviction.
Acting for the defendant, solicitor Ken Cunningham said that the incident had happened in a setting where there had been a lot of “loose banter.”
He said his client acknowledged that his actions were inappropriate and that he had misunderstood the situation.
As a result, he had been arrested at his home, where his children were present.
He is a long time employee with the organisation where they both work, but as a result of this incident had been placed on administrative leave.
But following the incident, the defendant has received counselling and a “glowing” probation report was made available to the court.
Mr Cunningham said the probation service placed his client in the low-risk of re-offending category and that it said that no further supervision was required.
He said his client was “extremely remorseful” for his actions, which “went beyond what was appropriate, grossly so.”
But, Mr Cunningham said, the outcome of the case also needs to be appropriate.
A conviction of sexual assault would carry “a stigma” with the specifics of the incident never clarified in his record.
The solicitor said that he did not wish to minimise the situation but felt his client had been punished enough.
He asked that the judge “afford him the chance to leave the courtroom without an asterisk beside his name.”
The injured party had indicated to the investigating gardaí that she did not wish to engage with the Restorative Justice Programme.
Judge Cheatle asked that the question of compensation in lieu of a conviction be put to the injured party, and she subsequently agreed.
Judge Cheatle said it was "very good of her to agree".
He put the matter back to March and struck out the charge, saying if the money was not paid, the matter could be re-entered.
“Thank you all for your assistance in the matter and I wish you all well, especially [injured party],” said Judge Cheatle.
