This article is from page 3 of the 2008-01-15 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 3 JPG
A KILKEE man who is serving a 12- year sentence for aggravated sexual assault was yesterday handed a five- year-term for sexually assaulting a woman in Ennis.
Brian Mulvihill (30), of Lislana- han, Kilkee, admitted the offence, relating to an incident at a flat in En- nis, in January 2005. He also admit- ted sexually assaulting a woman in Tralee in November 2004.
Both incidents and the aggravated
sexual assault occurred within a five-month spell when Mulvihill was “gripped” by drink.
During that time, Mulvihill’s “life crashed around him. His old friend drink let him down and led him on a merry dance,” said his barrister Mark Nicholas.
The 12-year term, imposed at the Central Criminal Court last April for the assault on a 20-year-old student in a caravan in west Clare in August 2004, is currently under appeal.
Referring to the Ennis incident,
Garda Val McCormack told En- nis Circuit Court that Mulvihill had been drinking with the injured party for several hours. They both later re- turned to her apartment.
She went to bed and “as she knew him, she allowed him to sleep on the bed outside the covers, fully clothed,” said the garda.
She fell asleep and when she woke up, he was sexually assaulting her.
When she shouted and attempted to push him off, he started pulling her hair. She attempted to strike him
with a bedside lamp and flee the apartment, but had difficulty escap- ing. He asked her to promise not to the tell the gardai. She agreed, in an effort to get away from him. The young woman was later treated at a sexual assault treatment unit.
Mr Nicholas said his client “went on a downward spiral over the five months and was out of control on olen om
Judge Carroll Moran said Mulvi- hill was invited to stay at the young woman’s house, but “he abused the
invitation and took liberties of a fair- ly intrusive nature.”
He noted that a psychiatric report on Mulvihill didn’t question the ex- istence of sexual deviance which, he said, had to be a factor.
“It can’t all be down to drink and mood swings,’ he said.
He said he must impose a prison sentence and jailed him for five erase
“What he did was dreadful but there has to be some element of pro- portionality,’ he said.