“My life has changed completely since that day. I feel disgusted and utterly violated,” were the words of a woman traumatised after a man stood behind her on a crowded Luas tram and soiled her dress with his semen.
Security guard Abdiweli Ali, aged 24, was jailed for eight months for the broad daylight sexual assault on June 10 last year. Dublin District Court heard it happened as the woman and her friend travelled in broad daylight to the Three Arena for a Smashing Pumpkins concert.
Describing it as an “appalling offence”, Judge Grainne Malone stated she had to ensure women could travel safely on public transport without being violated in this way, and there had to be a deterrent.
Ali, from Somalia, came to Ireland in 2020, claiming he fled from terrorist groups. He denied the allegation for a year and changed his plea shortly before his trial was due to start.
Garda Colm Maguire played CCTV footage and described how Ali and the victim, in her late 20s, boarded the tram at the Bus Aras Luas stop at 7.20pm. It was jam-packed, and Ali stood behind her for the eight-minute trip.
“At one point during the journey, the injured party felt something wet on the back of her leg but didn’t have enough room to check what it actually was while on the Luas. On arrival at The Point Luas stop with her friend, she check her skirt and found what she suspected to be semen on her skirt.”
Ali also got off and ran to a taxi to take him to work. She reported it to gardaí on beat in the area, and her skirt was later sent for forensic examination, confirming her suspicion. A large amount of CCTV was gathered during the investigation, and the accused was the only male identified as a suspect.
Garda Maguire spotted Ali on June 27 at O’Connell Street and recognised him from the video footage, wearing the same clothes. He was arrested and questioned but made no admissions, insisting it was not him on the CCTV of the Luas.
However, a DNA sample from Ali matched the sample from the skirt. Garda Maguire said it was “a thousand million times more likely that it came from the accused than any other person”.
Pictures of the stained skirt were handed in to court. The garda agreed with defence counsel Rory Mulvaney that it was an isolated incident. The court heard Ali had no prior convictions but had been given a strike-out for obstruction of a garda after donating money to charity last year.
Prosecutor Derek Mangan outlined how the State had been ready to bring 10 witnesses to testify after Ali maintained his denials for a year. He also said the victim wished to address the court.
In a powerful impact statement, she said: “My life has changed completely since that day. I feel disgusted and utterly violated.”
She recalled how he was heading to the concert with her friend. “We were not talking to men or wearing anything provocative. I was just going on the Luas with my friend, as I have on many different occasions.
“I thought I had no reason to doubt my safety as I was in a public space on a busy Luas in broad daylight. Now, I can’t make any plans without having to consider the safety of every part of the plan.
“Any sense of safety I had has been taken away,” she said, adding that she has been attending counselling costing €80 per session.
She opened up about how preparing for the trial and the possibility of giving evidence left her “re-traumatised again and again over the last year, replaying the assault and preparing to be questioned”.
“As a woman, I have always been wary of drunk men, rowdy men and creepy men. Now I am wary of every man and even every person. Any sense of safety I had has been taken away. Every part of my life is different now.”
All her decisions are now influenced by her encounter on the Luas, which led her to change her habits.
“I can’t stand at a traffic light with someone waiting behind me without having to move because it makes me feel so anxious. When I’m in a crowded room, I need to have my back to the wall if I’m standing, and if I’m sitting down, I feel the need to have my chair facing the room so that no one can pass behind me.”
It also significantly affected her professional and personal life. The court heard she had taken numerous weeks off work due to anxiety and stress. She avoids public transport, does not walk to work anymore, relies on taxis or lifts, and often questions her clothing choices, terrified she might attract “unwanted attention.”
“I have been forever changed by this assault,” she stated but concluded her statement by expressing hope that someday she could go about her daily life without overwhelming anxiety.
Mr Mulvany told the judge that his client, who did not address the court and could not explain his actions, was ashamed and recognised the distress caused. Ali offered an “unreserved apology” through the barrister.
The court heard Ali claimed he came to Ireland five years ago to avoid “various terrorist gangs trying to recruit young people into their organisations”.
He was allowed to stay, trained and obtained a security guard’s license. Ali worked in that role for two years and was posted at an IPAS centre until this allegation came to light.
Sentencing, Judge Malone said jurisdiction had been accepted earlier by another judge for the case to remain in the District Court, which could impose a maximum of one year’s imprisonment.
Taking into account the guilty plea, she suspended the final two months on condition Ali did not re-offend for two years. She praised the victim for coming forward, which will protect others from Ali, and she commended the Garda investigation.
