A Tralee man who sexually assaulted two women after a night out has been jailed for four and a half years.
26-year-old Martin Burke of Ballinorig, Tralee was before the Central Criminal Court on the charges in relation to the incident in a Kerry town in 2018.
The Central Criminal Court heard one of Martin Burke’s victims had previously known him before she met him in a Kerry town on a night out on August 26th 2018.
She invited him back to her home, where they sat in the kitchen with her brother and his girlfriend, where there was drinking and some cannabis consumed.
When the party broke up, Martin Burke tried to kiss the first woman but she told them they were just good friends and showed him to a spare bedroom.
He followed her into her room and became violent, biting her cheek, and then sexually assaulting her.
Martin Burke then went into the bedroom where the second woman was sleeping with her boyfriend.
She woke up, and Martin Burke grabbed her breast; she told him to get out and he left but returned and put his hands under the sheets and felt her thigh; she kicked at him and he left.
Martin Burke with an address in Ballinorig, Tralee had pleaded not guilty to four counts of sexual assault, and a jury at the Central Criminal Court convicted him of three counts and acquitted him of one.
Justice Paul McDermott noted there’s no real acceptance by Martin Burke of the harm his actions caused, and that a probation report stated he has hostility towards women, shows a lack of concern for others, and has alcohol and drug abuse issues.
The judge imposed a five-and-a-half-year sentence, but suspended the final 12 months, on condition that Martin Burke continue to engage with the Probation Service for a period of three years after his release.
He also ordered Martin Burke to stay away from the victims and not have any contact with them.
