A homeless woman who was sexually assaulted while sleeping rough in Dublin city has told a judge she feels 'stupid' for putting herself in that situation.
The man, who was also homeless and can’t be named to protect her identity, was jailed today for three years.
In her victim impact statement, the woman said her confidence and self-esteem has been shattered by what happened to her over nine years ago now.
On a night in August 2014, her hostel bed was given to someone else because she turned up late, having mixed up her allocated time to get a spot for the night.
She grabbed a sleeping bag and ended up settling in for the night under an overhang on the streets of Dublin city.
She had met the man shortly after leaving the hostel and he took her there for some shelter.
During the night, she awoke to find him sexually assaulting her. She angrily asked him what he was doing before falling back asleep.
The trial heard she had sleepy due to tablets she had taken earlier that day, so after the first assault, she fell back asleep only to awake again to the man molesting her.
At this point, she got up and went back to her accommodation.
The case went to trial and the man was found guilty of sexually assaulting her. He was jailed today for three years.
