A 24-year-old University College Cork graduate was yesterday remanded in custody after he was charged in connection with an assault which left a UCC student requiring treatment at a sexual assault unit at a hospital in the city.
The graduate - a native of west Cork who now lives in Cork city - was charged with assault causing harm to the student, a woman in her early 20s, at Magazine Road in Cork city on November 7th.
The man was also charged with robbery of a Garda radio valued at €2,000 from Garda Patrick Connery, also at Magazine Road, on the same occasion when he appeared at Cork District Court yesterday.
Insp Con Cadogan said gardaí were objecting to bail. Det Sgt Tim Murphy outlined their reasons for the objection, citing the seriousness of the charges and the belief that the man would abscond if granted bail.
Det Sgt Murphy said the State would allege that the accused was following a woman along College Road, that he passed her out before lying in wait in a laneway for her from where he grabbed her and allegedly assaulted her.
He said the State would allege that the accused hit the woman in the face with a mobile phone, that she lost a lot of blood from her injury and that she received facial injuries.
She had to spend Sunday morning at the Sexual Assault Unit at the South Infirmary.
Det Sgt Murphy said the State would also allege that the accused stole the injured party's UCC identification card, that he knew her name and that he threatened her not to report the matter to the gardaí.
Garda Patrick Connery told the court it was alleged that the accused gave him a false name when he accosted him near the scene and that when he asked him about some dried blood on his face, the accused became very violent.
The State would allege that the accused struggled with Garda Connery on the ground during which time he grabbed his Garda radio, preventing him from calling for support.
The accused was only restrained with the assistance of two civilian passers-by.
The accused's solicitor, Mr Frank Buttimer, put it to Det Sgt Murphy that his client had never come to Garda attention before and had never been required to turn up in court.
Det Sgt Murphy agreed that the man had not been known to gardaí prior to Sunday.
Judge Uinsinn Mac Gruairc refused bail and remanded the accused in custody to appear again at Cork District Court tomorrow.
He made an order prohibiting publication of the names of either the injured party or the accused, or any details that would identify either.
