Teen ‘misinterpreted’ girl’s request for help and had sex with her, court heard

A boy who had sex with a girl he was romantically interested in while she was intoxicated and getting sick at a teenagers’ house party has been told he will spend one year in detention for defilement.The victim was in the bathroom of the house feeling unwell when she asked her friend to fetch the boy for help, the Central Criminal Court heard. He told gardaí he misinterpreted the situation and started having sex with her.He later texted a friend saying he didn’t know why, but that he was “locked”. He was 15 at the time and she was 16. READ MOREHe had been watching pornography since the age of 13 and had received a basic sexual education from school, defence counsel said.The boy, who cannot be named as he is a juvenile, was originally charged with rape and sexual assault, but pleaded guilty to defilement in April last year. Sentencing the boy, who is now 16 , Judge Kerida Naidoo said on Wednesday that “all sexual offences are crimes of violence”, but the court accepted this incident did not involve gratuitous violence beyond the act itself.He noted the serious and long term impact on the victim.The judge said rehabilitation was an important factor for the court to consider, particularly for juvenile offenders, and said detention must be a last resort.Having considered the boy’s personal circumstances, his guilty plea and other mitigating factors, the judge said he would impose a period of detention of one year and six months.He said the court had determined that a fully non-custodial sentence was “not appropriate” given the impact on the victim.The judge adjourned the imposition of sentence until October, when the final six months of the 18-month period of detention will be suspended on strict conditions, including that the boy engage with the Probation Service.A garda detective told the sentencing hearing how the victim and defendant were at a house party with friends where alcohol was consumed. Parents of a mutual friend were in a separate part of the house.The boy and girl had met previously through friends and were seeing each other “to some degree”, the court heard.The girl felt unwell after drinking vodka drinks and went to the downstairs bathroom where she got sick. She asked her friend who was helping her to get the boy and he came in and locked the door.The girl told gardaí she was sitting on the bathroom door and remembered the boy saying “you’re okay” and picking her up before he started touching her. She stood up to get sick and then felt the boy having sex with her, before she said: “No, no, no, what are you doing” and he stopped.She told him to go away and he left the bathroom before she left the bathroom and the party in a state of upset. She told her parents as soon as she got home.The girl attended a sexual assault treatment unit and the boy’s DNA was matched in samples taken.In her victim impact statement, which she read out to the court, the girl said she was not the same person she was.“I used to be a very outgoing, bubbly, trusting person,” she said. “I loved school, seeing friends, trying new things and meeting new people. After that night, I became really different. I’m so angry and withdrawn. I find it hard to trust new people. I don’t feel like leaving my house.”She said she did not enjoy life any more and would never forget that night. “It will always be with me for the rest of my life,” she said.Séamus Clarke, defending, said his client was remorseful for his actions. The boy had drunk half a bottle of vodka and was intoxicated, the court heard.A letter of apology from the boy was handed into court in which he said he was sorry for any pain and stress he had caused to the girl and her family. A letter was also handed into court from the boy’s mother, who questioned whether she failed him by not talking about sex when he was younger. This incident was his first time having sex and he “read the situation wrong”, defence counsel said.A Probation Service report said the boy reported he had consumed alcohol on the night and he agreed he should have ensured the girl was consenting. He had a “poor understanding” of this and only had a “basic sexual education at school”.