A Limerick man who violently attacked a woman during a random late night sexual assault as she walked home, has been jailed for four years at the Central Criminal Court.
27-year-old Jonathan Colbert of Hyde Avenue, Prospect, Limerick had pleaded guilty to the aggravated sexual assault over two years ago.
On October 13, 2013, Colbert attacked the woman as she walked home and Garda Donna Ryan told the court that the 27-year-old Limerick man dragged the victim into a nearby estate.
Colbert pinned the woman, who was in her 40s, against a wall and banged her head off it three times.
He took down his trousers and underwear and tried to undo the woman’s belt, as she screamed for help.
The court heard that a female resident in the estate contacted Gardaí after she heard the screaming.
The woman was still screaming and struggling with Colbert when Gardaí arrived on the scene. He pretended to make a phone call and then ran off.
Colbert was too intoxicated to be interviewed immediately after arrest, but that he later claimed his victim had engaged in consensual sex acts with him.
The court heard the woman declined to make a victim impact statement as she wished to put the matter behind her.
During the sentencing this week, Ms Justice Margaret Heneghan noted that the victim did not wish to be reminded of the events and therefore did not make a victim impact statement.
The aggravating factor was the physical harm caused to the victim’s face and Ms Justice Heneghan noted Colbert’s ‘lack of genuine remorse’ and that a psychologist’s report suggested he had a low level of empathy.
The 27-year-old was sentenced to four years in jail which has been backdated to November in 2013 when he first entered custody and Colbert’s name was to be added to the Sex Offenders Register
