Judge speaks of gender respect gap as she convicts ‘man of his era’ of sex assault

A District Court judge has stated that as a woman she has on numerous occasions had to suffer inappropriate behaviour from men who have no respect for women.

At Kilrush District Court, Judge Mary Larkin made her comment before convicting a 56-year-old west Clare man of sexual assault after he slapped the backside of a woman who he was attracted to on November 17th, 2021.

The man, who has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to the offence of sexual assault of the woman after he slapped her backside while she was queuing to pay for her shopping at Queally’s SuperValu, Kilrush in west Clare.

Solicitor Michael Ryan for the man said his client “is a man of his era” and did not understand the laws of attraction when one party clearly indicates to the other that they are not interested and that is ignored, and this is what happened on this occasion when the woman was slapped by his client in a public place.

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In response, Judge Larkin told Mr Ryan: “You speak of this man being a man of an era, but let me speak to you as being a woman of that era.”

Addressing the court, which conducted the hearing in private, Judge Larkin said she had “on numerous occasions had to suffer inappropriate behaviour from men”.

Judge Larkin said: “That is what it comes back to. It is a lack of respect for the weaker sex, a lack of respect for the female gender. Men do not learn that you cannot touch or strike a woman – or anybody.”

Judge Larkin said she accepted that the man, accompanied to court by his sister, was drunk on the date and also accepted “the dreadful effect” the man’s acquired brain injury had on him after being assaulted around the head with an iron bar during his 20 years in the UK.

She said: “Whatever era you are from, you need to bring yourself up to date to say that you cannot conduct yourself like that.”

Judge Larkin stated that the complainant, who was not present in court for the sentencing hearing, had provided a victim impact statement and made the point that this behaviour was not acceptable.

Convicting the man of sexual assault, Judge Larkin applied a probation bond for the next 12 months that he not reoffend.

Addressing Judge Larkin on the case, Mr Ryan said his client was remorseful. The solicitor said, in his initial consultation with his client, his client “may not have grasped the seriousness of the matter, but after a couple of further meetings, and with the family situation and friendships deteriorating, he began to grasp the seriousness”.