A man who sexually assaulted his flatmate by performing oral sex on her as she slept on the couch has been jailed for three years.
Lucas da Silva Cruz (30), now of Richmond Road, Fairview, Dublin 3, was living with the woman and 11 other people in a three-bedroomed Dublin house when the assault took place.
He was found guilty of one count of sexually assaulting the woman on July 4th, 2019, following a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court trial in January.
The prosecution told the court there was no objection to da Silva Cruz being named but the woman has asked that her own name not be published.
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Sentencing the man on Monday, Judge Orla Crowe said he breached the trust of a sleeping woman to whom he had been previously kind. The judge said it was a frightening experience for her in her home where she should have felt safe.
Judge Crowe said the complainant had suffered lasting effects as a result of the offence. She was unable to share this with her family because of the upset it would cause to them.
The judge noted da Silva Cruz accepted the jury verdict and has expressed remorse. She also noted he was a foreign national who has had no visitors since being in the Midlands Prison.
She imposed a three-year jail term, backdated to last January 17th for time spent in custody. He has been placed on the sex offenders register.
Det Garda PJ Gallagher told barrister Jane Murphy, prosecuting, that the three-bedroom property housed 13 Brazilian nationals, with men and women sharing rooms and sleeping in bunk beds.
When the complainant in the case, then aged 23, moved into the house, she was not entirely comfortable with this living situation and often slept on the sofa instead. Da Silva Cruz was one of her flatmates and, while they did not know each other particularly well, their relationship was cordial, the court heard.
On the night of the offence, the housemates had a barbecue in the garden and were socialising. Alcohol was not a factor in the case, and the complainant was drinking coke. She went to sleep on the sofa at about 1.30am.
She woke at about 4am to find her trousers pulled down and da Silva Cruz was performing oral sex on her. She kicked her legs a couple of times until he got up and left the room.
Da Silva Cruz told gardaí the act was consensual.
In a victim impact statement read out on her behalf, the woman said she struggles with anxiety, sleepless nights and recurrent nightmares since the assault.
She said she is often withdrawn from people and social situations. She said she is very lucky to have a partner who cares for her and she is now pregnant. However, what should have been one of the happiest moments of her life has been overshadowed by the assault and the trial.
She said coming to Ireland, which started out as a dream, has since become so much more. “After the jury saw the truth in me, Ireland, already my home, became my refuge,” she said. “Ireland has given me justice, and for that I will always be grateful.”
Barrister Gerard Charlton, defending, said his client has no previous convictions. He now accepts the jury verdict and had a letter of apology in court.
Da Silva Cruz works in IT, but resigned from his job upon being convicted. This has caused financial hardship, as he was supporting his elderly mother back home in São Paulo, the court heard.
