RTÉ journalist found guilty of sexually assaulting woman as she slept

Ardent

I'm probably going to be accused of being all sorts, but curious to know what others think....

Just read this article, which is currently the lead item on the Independent homepage:

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/rte-journalist-found-guilty-of-sexually-assaulting-woman-as-she-slept-41655437.html

I don't know the guy from Adam, but I have to say I feel some sympathy for him.

Out drinking, meets lady, pub crawl with said lady, kissing at the end of the night, back to his place, sexual foreplay, she hints at sex the following morning, they share a bed together, etc. Absolutely no excuse for his incredibly blunt attempt to initiate in the middle of the night, but when she says no he backs off.

She claims she is traumatised by what happened. But I find it weird that, rather than report the incident immediately, she waited almost an entire year before going to the Gardai.

Anyway, this guy's career and life is ruined. Sentencing will happen next week.

Given the above contributing circumstances, can we really say this guy is a sexual deviant that needs to be locked up?

sam t smith

You have never heard the word ‘consent’?

Augme

The moral of the story is don't touch people up when they are asleep.

sam t smith

Extremely creepy behaviour. (As well as criminal obviously.)

Ardent

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119072473#Comment_119072473

But this is the thing - there was consent for foreplay throughout the night.

Donald Trump

Dude obviously wasn't famous. When you are famous you can grab them by wherever you want and they just let you.

Or so I've heard

Obviously your man was convicted so the jury found him guilty. People can't really condone it even though it seems a bit harsh to have had his life ruined over. We don't know the facts though and the jury did

sam t smith

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119072534#Comment_119072534

Which ended when they went to sleep.

Donald Trump

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119072547#Comment_119072547

Yes. And it was wrong what he did.

That she went back to sleep though it seems a bit weird if she was so upset. Unless she was a bit drunk or something or only started getting upset from it later. Which isn't impossible

Strumms

What’s done for him is him trying to initiate with the girl asleep… never a clever move in any situation but especially with someone you just met on a drunken night out..ffs.. that’s creepy x 1000.

i guess it must have been txt messages that led to his arrest and conviction…

certainly some oddness on behalf of the plaintiff…. In your eyes a guy tries to ‘sexually assault’ you, but you still stay in the same bed ? for a number of hours ? Then waiting almost one year to report it ?!

cap.in.hand.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119072547#Comment_119072547

he gave his consent for her to go into his bed... she'd know he'd be there as well...it's not like she was in another bed in another room

Furze99

Read to me like a bit of a misunderstanding that came to nothing. That's assuming it was, as reported. They're in bed by/ with consent. He feels a bit horny, she tells him to stop, he stops, they have a chat about it afterwards.

What then happens - he loses his job and ends up in court. Bit drastic.

How did this ever end up in the courts?

ahappychappy

Christ this thread is depressing. Please read up on consent it has always existed but some ignored . No means no at any and all point and the onus is on everyone to check in to establish consent.

sam t smith

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119072639#Comment_119072639

Did you miss the part where she was asleep?

Atlantic Dawn

Note to men...have 2 seperate sleeping bags in your bed if someone agrees to go back to your home of an evening of their own free will and sleep in the same bed as you when multiple other options were available.

Furze99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119072654#Comment_119072654

She didn't consent - so he stopped.

For most sane people, that is reasonable and respectable behaviour.

Multipass

Waste of court time. She went home with him, slept in his bed. He tried it on, she said no. Now she’s apparently traumatised for life, give me a break. This kind of case undermines real assaults.

Furze99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119072660#Comment_119072660

Why does it make any difference whether she was asleep or awake when he initiated more foreplay. Clearly she woke up, told him to stop and he stopped. Should be end of story.

ahappychappy

Eh he started when she hadn't the capacity to consent i.e. was asleep. If you don't understand consent then please go get educated.

sam t smith

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119072688#Comment_119072688

She was ASLEEP. She couldn’t give consent while asleep. Full stop. It doesn’t matter that he stopped when his actions woke her up and she asked him to stop.

He should not have started.

As per the article he accepts that himself. I don’t really understand how there can be any ambiguity here…

Jequ0n

Cases like this make a mockery out of actual sexual abuse situations.

Furze99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119072727#Comment_119072727

Grand, I'll leave you to your perfect wee world. Good luck with it.

sam t smith

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119072707#Comment_119072707

I’ll paste my response to the other lad who tried the same point:

”She was ASLEEP. She couldn’t give consent while asleep. Full stop. It doesn’t matter that he stopped when his actions woke her up and she asked him to stop.

He should not have started.

As per the article he accepts that himself. I don’t really understand how there can be any ambiguity here…”

osarusan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119072534#Comment_119072534

Where are you getting that from?

They fooled around a bit, he tried to initiate penetrative sex, she said no, but maybe in the morning. How does that equal consent for foreplay throughout the night?

What they did together before she went to sleep is irrelevant, as is what she said might happen the next morning.

StevenToast

Id say there is alot of men sweating reading up on this case....thinking back on their past "conquests"....

Jesus......the stories you'd hear over the years.....

Suckit

Not excusing anything. But this line stuck out a little

She was unable to get public transport for a long time because the “touch from a stranger was unbearable”.

Surely if there was consensual foreplay, it was no longer a "touch from a stranger"?

monkeybutter

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119072793#Comment_119072793

Sure don't be a tease...

The story seems mad, just based on what's in the story

Imagine 1 fuukin year later getting a knock on the door

MEGA BRO WOLF 5000

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119072797#Comment_119072797

It's waffle people like this insert into court cases to get more $$$

kaymin

She insisted on him being named as if he's a danger to society. Complete head banger.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119072707#Comment_119072707

The woman then fell asleep and woke later to find Ó Leidhin on top her of her and groping her breasts. She said she told him to stop and get off her. He did stop and told her “sorry I'm horny”

So... climbing on her and groping her breasts was ok...?

And some people say we don't need consent as part of sex and relationships education...

Ardent

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119072810#Comment_119072810

It seems they had a relationship of some sort after the event, but we don't know how that panned out.

Rikand

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119072793#Comment_119072793

If this sort of thing was wrong 20 years I would have been a virgin until after I got married!

maestroamado

I expect the EU court will throw this out in an instance....

ahappychappy

@Rikand newsflash it was always wrong.

BingCrosbee

Sad case. His life is ruined now. I think her sleeping in the bed and messing around earlier with him gives her culpability also, although to a lesser extent.

Gusser09

This is mad. OTT in the extreme. Its not she was underage with grooming having took place. The guy made an error of judgement. She said no and he backed off. He's lost his life now. Surely to god an expert could testify that he isnt a danger.

I suppose if he was famous with a higher profile he wouldnt have had a problem like another ex RTE high profile employee who got away with a lot worse.

alan partridge aha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119072879#Comment_119072879

Did they go out after the event, I didn't read that in the report.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119072793#Comment_119072793

Most of the ladies I've been with have sexually assaulted me according to the law now it seems.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119072911#Comment_119072911

Based on what....? He accepted the verdict and the EU court isn't going to turn around and say, "yeah, you were only groping her while she was asleep. Quash the verdict."

monkeybutter

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119072911#Comment_119072911

Which EU court

Potential-Monke

How much time passed between initial foreplay and his second attempt? It doesn't say. Remembering back to when I had a missus, plenty of nights like that, you'd start off, you'd do something and come back up to find her fast asleep. Is a guy waking up to a birthday BJ being sexually assaulted? I digress, I'm playing devils advocate. All I know is, I'll never be making the first move ever again. Anything sexual that happens with me will not be instigated by me! I'll have contracts for everything!

monkeybutter

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119072873#Comment_119072873

Im sure everyone has been on the end of something like this at some point in a relationship even and fobbed the other off and went back to sleep

I mean who is that immature to be going back to someone's house for a bit of kip

Would you not just go home

Faugheen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119072730#Comment_119072730

Oh what a surprise you have sympathy for a man convicted of sexual assault.

Quantum Erasure

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119072662#Comment_119072662

you could roll over in the middle of the night, adjust yourself, and next morning wake up to the cops at your door...

Faugheen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119072849#Comment_119072849

She doesn't get any money out of this. It's a criminal case, not a civil one.

monkeybutter

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119073069#Comment_119073069

You are all rage in your 3 posts so far bud

CramCycle

Dear lord there are either alot of men who can't read in this thread or are creepy as ****. She was asleep. She woke up to find herself getting touched up. Are any of you seriously insinuating that if a girl says she might be up for it in the morning you can touch away while she is asleep. I realise most is trolling, well done but if any of you actually believe this, do the world a favour and either never go outside again or take a long walk off a short pier.

As a good friend once told us over a beer (and I'm paraphrasing). Do you know what you do if your that horny and she's asleep? You leave the room, crack one out in the bathroom and sleep on the couch.

Man Vs ManUre

Ok in this case it says he got up on top of her and was feeling her boobs and then she woke up. You can say that is wrong I suppose. But what about snuggling in sleep, you do the big spoon small spoon with a bird and fondle and hold her boobs and sleep. Is this then a sexual assault?? If it’s a 1 night stand or with the girlfriend/wife and you do this spoon in sleep, are you in trouble??

monkeybutter

Unless you got written consent you better believe it is you pervert

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119073050#Comment_119073050

Not sure what you're saying here - people have the right to change their mind and frequently do, and people have too much and fall asleep before the sex - are you saying that never known this to happen, or are you saying that it's ok to carry on at that point?

monkeybutter

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119073100#Comment_119073100

Jesus Christ just wake her up first

There are too many people on here who appear to have never had sex at all

If you don't want sex in the first place go home

Faugheen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119073179#Comment_119073179

Lol. Someone's mad because they don't understand that nobody can legally consent while they sleep.

A lot of unhinged stuff in this thread from your good self.